Bottles of Corona beer sit on a supermarket shelf in Los Angeles, Calif., on April 1, 2015.Lucy Nicholson/Reuters
Corona beer maker Constellation Brands STZ-N beat second-quarter results estimates on Thursday, as robust demand for its popular beer brands helped soften the hit from a slump in its wines and spirits business.
The company has seen persistent demand in the beer segment, its major revenue driver, as consumers continued to spend on its light-bodied beer categories of Modelo Especial and Pacifico varieties.
Meanwhile, its wines and spirits business has struggled with weaker sales for several quarters, particularly at retailers, following which the company earlier last month said it will take a $2.5-billion write-down for the unit in the reported quarter.
In September, Constellation also lowered its annual net sales growth forecast to between 4 per cent and 6 per cent from an earlier range of 6 per cent to 7 per cent.
Constellation’s shares were down 1.9 per cent in premarket trading on Thursday, after it reaffirmed its annual adjusted profit and sales forecast.
Constellation’s peer, Jack Daniel’s maker Brown-Forman, missed its first-quarter profit and revenue estimates in August on higher input costs and weaker demand.
The Victor, New York-based company’s reported second-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $4.32 in the quarter ended Aug. 31, beating analysts’ average estimate of $4.08, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Its net sales grew about 3 per cent to $2.92-billion from a year ago, while also edging past expectations.