Constellation Brands Inc. on Thursday said profit jumped 22% in the latest quarter, and it raised its earnings outlook for the year as acquisitions provided a boon for the beer and wine distributor.

Shares, which have risen 39% in the past 12 months, climbed another 1.5% premarket.

Separately, Constellation said it plans to build a new brewery in Mexicali, Mexico, and further expand its Nava brewery to support long term growth efforts—moves that will help the company keep up with demand as its Corona, Modelo Especial and Pacifico brands have grown much faster than the industry.

Constellation became the third-largest beer company by volume in the U.S. in 2013 after acquiring rights to Corona and Modelo from Anheuser-Busch InBev NV. In November, Constellation said it would acquire craft-beer company Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits for $1 billion amid a wider consolidation push in the beer industry.

In the latest quarter, Constellation's net beer sales rose 8% on momentum from Corona Extra and Modelo Especial, while sales in the wine and spirits segment climbed 3% on a constant currency basis. The company said the benefits of the July acquisition of California wine brand Meiomi were fully realized in the latest quarter.

Including the acquisitions of Meiomi and Ballast Point, Constellation now expects adjusted per-share earnings for the year ending in February between $5.30 and $5.40, up from a previous range of $5 to $5.20.

For the quarter ended in November, Constellation reported a profit of $270.5 million, or $1.33 a share, up from a profit of $222.2 million, or $1.10 a share a year earlier. Revenue grew 6.4% to $1.64 billion from $1.54 billion. Adjusted earnings were $1.42 a share.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were looking for adjusted earnings of $1.30 a share on $1.62 billion in sales.

Constellation said its new Mexicali brewery, which is expected to be completed in four to five years, will cost about $1.5 billion. The Nava brewery expansion, expected to be completed by early 2018, is expected to cost $250 million and increase production capacity from 25 to 27.5 million hectoliters.

Write to Anne Steele at Anne.Steele@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 07, 2016 09:25 ET (14:25 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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