Cuervo’s Sales Near $1.7 Billion In Full Fiscal Year
February 25, 2021Grupo Cuervo saw full-year net sales surge 19% to just under $1.7 billion in 2020, despite a slowdown in growth in the fourth quarter. Volume increased 7% to 23.7 million 9-liter cases, and the Mexico-based company’s EBITDA was up 25% to $368 million.
Cuervo’s gains were driven by the U.S. and Canada, which combined for net sales up 33% to $1.2 billion on a 22% volume increase to 15.2 million cases. Growth was robust across Cuervo’s ready-to-drink cocktail business as well as its core Tequila offerings, with Jose Cuervo Margaritas jumping 51% to 3.5 million cases in the U.S. in 2020, according to Impact Databank, and Jose Cuervo Especial Silver rising 33% to just under 2 million cases.
Cuervo’s 1800 franchise also soared in the U.S. last year, with the 1800 Tequila label up 31% to 1.5 million cases and 1800 Ultimate Margarita leaping 62% to approach the million-case mark, according to Impact Databank. Jose Cuervo Tradicional and Pendleton Canadian whisky were likewise up by double-digits for the year, nearing 300,000 cases and 400,000 cases respectively.
The strong gains in North America more than offset struggles in other markets for the Tequila giant, whose Mexico unit saw net sales fall 14.5% to $302 million, with its Rest of World region down 14.6% to $106 million.
Growth tailed off a bit in the fourth quarter, as the company said it confronted “a sequentially natural deceleration following a socially restricted holiday season,” although the U.S. and Canada remained on the rise, with their combined sales increasing by 4.5% in the final three months of the year.
Noting that pandemic-related challenges remain across many of its key markets, Cuervo said it’s eyeing a second-half recovery for some of the harder hit areas. “We remain hopeful that as the world comes to a recovery, some geographies will begin to recuperate from a social and economic standpoint towards the second half of the year,” the company said.—Daniel Marsteller
| Proximo Spirits—Key Brands (thousands of 9-liter case depletions) |
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| Brand | Origin/Type | 2019 | 2020E | Percent Change1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jose Cuervo | Tequila | 3,870 | 4,703 | 21.5% |
| Jose Cuervo Authentic Margaritas | Pre-Mixed Cocktail | 1,919 | 2,945 | 53.5% |
| 1800 | Tequila | 1,167 | 1,531 | 31.2% |
| 1800 Ultimate Margarita | Pre-Mixed Cocktail | 594 | 962 | 62.1% |
| The Kraken | Rum | 479 | 541 | 13.0% |
| Jose Cuervo Golden Margarita | Pre-Mixed Cocktail | 395 | 539 | 36.6% |
| Pendleton | Canadian Whisky | 345 | 397 | 14.9% |
| Proper No. Twelve | Irish Whiskey | 121 | 232 | 77.1% |
| Total Key Brands2 | 8,899 | 11,850 | 33.2% | |
| 1 Based on unrounded data. 2 Addition of columns may not agree due to rounding. Source: IMPACT DATABANK © 2021 |
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Tagged : Proximo
