By Chelsey Dulaney
Constellation Brands Inc. on Thursday unveiled its first cash
dividend since going public in 1973, as the alcoholic-beverage
maker's Mexican beer segment continued to drive growth in the
latest quarter.
Constellation had signaled in recent months that it was looking
to return cash to shareholders as it reduced its debt levels. The
Victor, N.Y., company said it would pay out a cash dividend of 31
cents a share for its Class A stock and 28 cents per share for its
Class B stock in May.
Constellation's Corona Extra and Modelo Especial brands have
been two of the hottest beers in the U.S. as of late. Larger
competitors Anheuser-Busch InBev NV and MillerCoors LLC, meanwhile,
have struggled with declining volumes in recent years.
For its fourth quarter, Constellation's beer sales grew 11%. The
company said wine and spirits net sales grew 2% on a constant
currency basis, though the unit experienced a decline in
volume.
To keep up with surging beer sales, Constellation has said it is
planning to spend more than $1 billion to expand its brewery in
Nava, Mexico.
Constellation said Thursday that the project is progressing on
time and budget. The company said it is targeting between $950
million to $1.05 billion in spending on beer projects during its
newly-started fiscal year.
Overall, for the fourth quarter, the company posted a profit of
$215 million, or $1.06 a share, compared with $157 million, or 79
cents a share a year ago. Excluding certain items, per-share
earnings were $1.03 a share.
Net sales rose 5% to $1.36 billion.
Analysts had projected 94 cents a share in profit and $1.36
billion in revenue, according to Thomson Reuters.
For its 2016 fiscal year ending next February, Constellation
forecast per-share earnings of $4.70 to $4.90 a share, in line with
analysts' expectation for $4.85 a share in earnings.
Constellation is targeting high-single digit sales growth for
its beer business and low-to-middle single digit sales growth in
the wine and spirit business.
Write to Chelsey Dulaney at Chelsey.Dulaney@wsj.com
Access Investor Kit for Anheuser-Busch InBev SA
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=BE0003793107
Access Investor Kit for SABMiller Plc
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=GB0004835483
Access Investor Kit for Anheuser-Busch InBev SA
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US03524A1088
Access Investor Kit for Constellation Brands, Inc.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US21036P1084
Access Investor Kit for Constellation Brands, Inc.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US21036P2074
Access Investor Kit for SABMiller Plc
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US78572M1053
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires