PARIS (Reuters) -French spirits group Pernod Ricard reported on Thursday weaker-than-expected sales in the third quarter, as its key Chinese and U.S. markets remained under strong pressure.

Demand in China was soft during the crucial Lunar New Year amid challenging economic conditions while retailers continued to adjust inventories in the United States, the company said.

Pernod Ricard, the world's second-biggest western-style spirits group after Diageo, said it now banks on "dynamic" fourth-quarter sales to deliver broadly stable full-year 2023/24 organic sales.

It predicted organic profit from recurring operations to grow by 1% in the full year ending June 30, with an organic margin expansion.

Pernod Ricard, which owns Mumm champagne, Absolut vodka and Martell cognac, reported sales of 2.347 billion euros ($2.51 billion) in the three months ended March 31 - a flat performance on a like-for-like basis, which was below analysts' expectations of a 2.9% growth.

In China, sales slumped 12% during the third quarter and U.S. sales declined 11%. In India, however, strong consumer demand boosted sales by 8%.

Pernod said it was still aiming to achieve closer to 7% sales growth in the medium-term - towards the top of its 4-7% range, with organic operating leverage of 50-60 basis points.

Pernod Ricard's fiscal year starts on July 1.

($1 = 0.9338 euros)

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

By Dominique Vidalon