Constellation Brands Up 6% In Q1, As Beer Drives Gains
June 30, 2023Constellation Brands has posted sales up 6% to $2.5 billion for its fiscal first quarter ended in May, lifted by solid gains across its beer portfolio. The drinks giant’s operating income grew 4% to $827 million on a comparable basis. Wine and spirits sales performed well at the high end, but were down overall for the three-month period.
Constellation’s beer unit grew sales 11% to $2.1 billion in the quarter on shipments up 7.5% to 107 million (2.25-gallon) cases, with depletions rising 5.5%. Growth was led by Impact “Hot Brands” like Modelo Especial, Pacifico, and Modelo Especial Chelada, along with Corona Extra and the launch of Modelo Oro. To support ongoing strong demand for its Mexican brews, the company is planning capital expenditures of $4 billion to $4.5 billion for the beer business through fiscal 2026, including the addition of up to 30 million hectoliters of capacity at its Mexican breweries.
On the wine and spirit side, organic sales slipped 6% to $416 million on shipments down 9.2% to 5.9 million 9-liter cases, as depletions declined 6.3%. Still, Constellation noted that higher-end Tequila and RTD brands remained in strong growth, with its Mi Campo Tequila label posting depletions up 80%, amid overall 40% growth for the company’s craft spirits portfolio. Constellation added that new entries like Meiomi Bright wine and Fresca Mixed RTDs are off to a fast start. “Our higher-end wine and spirits business outperformed the higher end of the U.S. wine category and gained share in that segment,” said president and CEO Bill Newlands.
For its full fiscal year ending next February, Constellation is expecting beer net sales growth of 7% to 9% and operating income growth of 5% to 7%. The wine and spirits unit is forecasted to post an organic net sales decline of 0.5% to growth of 0.5%, and operating income growth 2% to 4%.—Daniel Marsteller
| Constellation—Leading Wines & Spirits In The U.S. Retailing At $15 And Up1 (thousands of 9-liter case depletions) |
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| Brand | Origin/Type | 2021 | 2022 | Percent Change2 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meiomi | California | 1,699 | 1,827 | 7.5% | |
| Kim Crawford3 | New Zealand | 1,709 | 1,661 | -2.8% | |
| Simi | California | 551 | 536 | -2.8% | |
| Ruffino Prosecco | Italy | 476 | 529 | 11.1% | |
| The Prisoner | California | 267 | 287 | 7.5% | |
| Unshackled | California | 139 | 175 | 25.6% | |
| High West | Bourbon/Rye | 146 | 170 | 16.4% | |
| Kim Crawford Illuminate | New Zealand | 101 | 168 | 66.5% | |
| Total4 | 5,089 | 5,353 | 5.2% | ||
| 1 At least $15 a 750-ml. 2 Based on unrounded data. 3 Excludes Illuminate, includes RTDs 4 Addition of columns may not agree due to rounding. Source: IMPACT DATABANK © 2023 |
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Tagged : Constellation Brands, Fresca, Meiomi, Modelo, Pacifico
