Remy CFO says no date yet given for decision on China brandy probe

LONDON (Reuters) - Beijing has given no official timeframe for a decision in its anti-dumping investigation on European Union brandy, Remy Cointreau's chief financial officer said on Wednesday, after top cognac makers attended a hearing on the issue last week.

China announced a probe into whether EU brandy makers were selling their product in China at below-market rates in January, weighing on sentiment for cognac producers like Remy as investors fear it could result in the imposition of tariffs.

Representatives of the industry, which say the probe is linked to a broader trade row rather than the liquor market, attended a hearing in Beijing last week - their first chance to defend themselves against the allegations in person.

Remy's CFO Luca Marotta told analysts on a first-quarter sales call that China's Commerce Ministry had not given any official communication regarding the timing of its decision after the hearing.

The company makes some 70% of its sales from cognac, with China one of its largest markets for the brandy, and its most profitable.

Asked whether the group was taking any steps to mitigate the impact of potential tariffs, such as shipping product to China ahead of time, Marotta said it was staying calm and continuing as normal.

"So far the investigation didn't affect consumer tastes or the essence of the business, so we are not changing the operation to try and anticipate, or offset, in an extraordinary way, the... impact," he said.

He added that it was also not possible to say whether Remy would look to pass the costs of higher tariffs onto consumers, only that the company was prepared to react if they were imposed.

The French cognac industry makes up almost all of China's EU brandy imports. Other affected players include Pernod Ricard and LVMH.

(Reporting by Emma Rumney; Editing by Jason Neely and Jan Harvey)