Remy Cointreau expects stronger H2 thanks to strong U.S. demand

* H1 operating profit 107 mln euros, down 7.3 pct like-for-like

* Cognac division H1 operating profit down 5.8 pct like-for-like

* CEO sees slight rise in sales, operating profit in full year (Recasts with CEO comments, adds shares)

By Dominique Vidalon

PARIS, Nov 26 (Reuters) - French spirits group Remy Cointreau said on Thursday it expects a slight rise in full-year operating profit and sales, underpinned by strong demand in its top U.S (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) . market and glimmers of a pickup in demand for premium cognac in China.

Like rivals Pernod Ricard (Paris: FR0000120693 - news) , Diageo (LSE: DGE.L - news) and LMVH , Remy has been hit by a Chinese government crackdown on ostentatious spending that contributed to a fall of 7.3 percent in first-half like-for-like group operating profit.

Chief Executive Valerie Chapoulaud-Floquet told Reuters she was "rather confident" in the second half of the year, and expected a "slight" rise in sales and operating profit on a like-for-like basis in the full year ending March 31.

Chapoulaud-Floquet told a news conference that in the last two months there had been "positive signs" from Chinese wholesalers on volumes rather on value and that the group was "very cautious".

The maker of Remy Martin cognac, Cointreau liqueur and Mount Gay Rum, said in a statement released earlier on Thursday that it was keeping its forecast for positive growth in current operating profit at constant exchange rates in the full 2015/16 year, excluding acquisitions and divestments.

Current operating profit for the six months to Sept. 30 reached 107 million euros ($114 million). On a reported basis, positive currency effects lifted profit by 4.7 percent.

The performance was slightly below analysts' expectations for 107.6 million euros in operating profit, according to a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S poll.

By 1147 GMT, Remy Cointreau (Swiss: RCO.SW - news) stock was down 2.36 percent at 66 euros, making it the worst performer on the Euronext Next 150 Index .N150 and SBF 120.

The Remy Martin cognac division, which accounts for 80 percent of group profit, saw operating profit fall 5.8 percent like-for-like to 85.9 million euros.

Cognac achieved a strong performance in the United States, driven by the success of the 1738 Accord Royal cognac. But this did not offset a decline in Asia-Pacific, the group said, blaming changes in its distribution network in China and cautious Chinese wholesalers.

The United States is now a bigger market for Remy Cointreau than China, accounting for slightly over 30 percent of sales against nearly 20 percent for China.

The Liqueurs & Spirits division saw its profit fall 4.8 percent to 24.1 million euros, reflecting higher year-ago comparables for Cointreau in the United States and a fall in the Metaxa liqueur due to weaker demand in austerity-hit Greece and in Russia.

$1 = 0.9415 euros) (Editing by James Regan, David Holmes and Adrian Croft)