Dive Brief:
- Brown-Forman Corp. reported earnings for its third quarter 2015 and the first nine months of the year, during which time underlying net sales grew both in the U.S., by 7%, and in emerging markets, by 6%, which was due in part to double-digit growth in Turkey, Brazil, Indonesia, Ukraine and sub-Saharan Africa, in the first nine months.
- Brown-Forman brands saw mixed results with growth of underlying net sales for some brands in the first nine months, including Jack Daniels trademark at 8%, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey at 32%, and Herradura by 19%, among others. Some other brands did not fare as well, including underlying net sales that dropped for Finlandia at 9% and Southern Comfort at 5%.
- The company reported EPS guidance for the rest of the fiscal year 2015, which was targeted between $3.15 and $3.25 per diluted share, the midpoint for which came in slightly under Wall Street's expectations of $3.23 per share.
Dive Insight:
“Brown-Forman's 7% growth in underlying operating income over the first nine months is impressive against last year’s strong comparisons. Our industry-leading results were once again driven by our portfolio skew to premium American whiskey brands and a balanced geographic approach,” said Paul Varga, the company’s CEO.
Brown-Forman's focus on whiskey eases the competition with Diageo, who appears to be focusing more on tequila after recently promising a $400 million investment into Don Julio, the tequila brand it recently acquired in a trade with Casa Cuervo, who obtained Diageo's own Bushmills Irish whiskey brand.