ROCHESTER - Constellation Brands Inc., which sells Mondavi wine, Corona beer and Svedka vodka, said Wednesday its fiscal third-quarter profit fell 30 percent on restructuring costs and weaker sales, and it trimmed the top end of its 2009 forecast amid the slowing global economy.
Its shares dropped more than 8 percent.
The world's biggest winemaker by volume said it earned $83.5 million, or 38 cents a share, in the quarter ended Nov. 30, down from $119.6 million, or 55 cents a share, a year earlier.
Excluding one-time charges, it earned $132 million, or 60 cents a share, topping Wall Street's forecast by a penny.
Sales were hurt by the stronger dollar, dipping to $1.31 billion from $1.41 billion, with net sales excluding excise taxes falling 6 percent to $1.03 billion from $1.09 billion.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected profit of 59 cents a share on sales of $1.13 billion.
“It's probably fair to say the number was slightly disappointing from a sales perspective, probably slightly better from an earnings-per-share perspective,” said Tim Ramey, an analyst for D.A. Davidson & Co. in Lake Oswego, Ore.
The company tightened its 2009 adjusted profit outlook to between $1.68 per share and $1.72 per share, from a prior forecast of $1.68 per share to $1.76 per share, citing the impact of the economic downturn on its key markets.
Shares fell $1.39, or 8.2 percent, to close at $15.48. In the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $10.66 and $23.48.
In the third quarter, restructuring and acquisition-related charges and other special items totaled $21 million before taxes.
Branded wine sales fell 7 percent to $849 million, with a 2 percent increase in sales of U.S. brands such as Clos du Bois and Wild Horse more than offset by an 11 percent drop in Europe and a 2 percent decrease in Australia and New Zealand.
Beer sales in its Crown Imports wholesale business joint venture edged up 1 percent to $555 million but operating profits were flat.
Sales of spirits fell 5 percent to $111 million despite a 60 percent gain for the Svedka premium vodka produced in Sweden that Constellation Brands acquired in March 2007.
In the U.S. and Canada, sales of branded wines were “probably a couple of percentage points below what we thought they might be,” while beer and spirits sales were in line with expectations, Ramey said. “As a category, alcoholic beverage sales are continuing to do quite well despite a tough economy.”
In a conference call with analysts, Chief Executive Rob Sands said recent price hikes on many of its U.S. wines “have unfavorably impacted volume in the short term. We expect our sales growth for the U.S. wine business to return to levels more consistent with market growth as we lock price increases, which we expect to occur in the next few months.”
The company's more than 250 brands run from jug wines to coveted California reds, including the Ravenswood, Estancia and Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi labels. It also imports Corona and St. Pauli Girl beer and owns liquors such as Fleischmann's vodka and Black Velvet Canadian whiskey.
Constellation Brands acquired Australian vintner BRL Hardy Ltd. in 2003 in a $1.1 billion cash-and-stock deal that made it the world's largest wine business.
In recent years, it has been staking a bigger claim in the more-profitable end of the U.S. wine market. It bought the U.S. wine business of Fortune Brands Inc. for $885 million in December 2007, boosting its collection of $8-to-$11 wines with popular brands such as Wild Horse.
Based in the Rochester suburb of Fairport, the company employs 8,200 people worldwide.
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On the Net:
http://www.cbrands.com
AP-ES-01-07-09 1649EST
The world's biggest winemaker by volume said it earned $83.5 million, or 38 cents a share, in the quarter ended Nov. 30, down from $119.6 million, or 55 cents a share, a year earlier.
Excluding one-time charges, it earned $132 million, or 60 cents a share, topping Wall Street's forecast by a penny.
Sales were hurt by the stronger dollar, dipping to $1.31 billion from $1.41 billion, with net sales excluding excise taxes falling 6 percent to $1.03 billion from $1.09 billion.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected profit of 59 cents a share on sales of $1.13 billion.
“It's probably fair to say the number was slightly disappointing from a sales perspective, probably slightly better from an earnings-per-share perspective,” said Tim Ramey, an analyst for D.A. Davidson & Co. in Lake Oswego, Ore.
The company tightened its 2009 adjusted profit outlook to between $1.68 per share and $1.72 per share, from a prior forecast of $1.68 per share to $1.76 per share, citing the impact of the economic downturn on its key markets.
Shares fell $1.39, or 8.2 percent, to close at $15.48. In the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $10.66 and $23.48.
In the third quarter, restructuring and acquisition-related charges and other special items totaled $21 million before taxes.
Branded wine sales fell 7 percent to $849 million, with a 2 percent increase in sales of U.S. brands such as Clos du Bois and Wild Horse more than offset by an 11 percent drop in Europe and a 2 percent decrease in Australia and New Zealand.
Beer sales in its Crown Imports wholesale business joint venture edged up 1 percent to $555 million but operating profits were flat.
Sales of spirits fell 5 percent to $111 million despite a 60 percent gain for the Svedka premium vodka produced in Sweden that Constellation Brands acquired in March 2007.
In the U.S. and Canada, sales of branded wines were “probably a couple of percentage points below what we thought they might be,” while beer and spirits sales were in line with expectations, Ramey said. “As a category, alcoholic beverage sales are continuing to do quite well despite a tough economy.”
In a conference call with analysts, Chief Executive Rob Sands said recent price hikes on many of its U.S. wines “have unfavorably impacted volume in the short term. We expect our sales growth for the U.S. wine business to return to levels more consistent with market growth as we lock price increases, which we expect to occur in the next few months.”
The company's more than 250 brands run from jug wines to coveted California reds, including the Ravenswood, Estancia and Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi labels. It also imports Corona and St. Pauli Girl beer and owns liquors such as Fleischmann's vodka and Black Velvet Canadian whiskey.
Constellation Brands acquired Australian vintner BRL Hardy Ltd. in 2003 in a $1.1 billion cash-and-stock deal that made it the world's largest wine business.
In recent years, it has been staking a bigger claim in the more-profitable end of the U.S. wine market. It bought the U.S. wine business of Fortune Brands Inc. for $885 million in December 2007, boosting its collection of $8-to-$11 wines with popular brands such as Wild Horse.
Based in the Rochester suburb of Fairport, the company employs 8,200 people worldwide.
---
On the Net:
http://www.cbrands.com
AP-ES-01-07-09 1649EST
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