- Sales in fiscal first quarter – to end of May – increase 17% to US$2.36bn
- Beer business in US up 21% at $1.9bn
- Combined wine & spirits sales rise 2% to $465m
Constellation Brands is gearing up for a strong summer, kicking off its current financial year with a healthy lift in sales.
The multi-category group, whose operations are dominated by its US-only beer business, has reported a 17% rise in three-month sales to the end of May. The year-on-year increase cycles a turbulent quarter in 2021, when the wider on-premise channel was only just starting to recover post-lockdowns.
The beer portfolio, which operates solely in the US and includes the Corona and Modelo brands, delivered a 21% jump in sales, while wine & spirits were up a modest 2%. According to Constellation, the group was “the #1 share gainer in the US beer industry in total” for the three-month period, with the performance of Modelo Especial described as “explosive” while Corona Extra delivered “resilient growth”.
Constellation expects a deceleration of its growth rate for beer, however: For the year to the end of February 2023, the business’s sales are forecast to come in up by between 7% and 9%.
Over in wine & spirits, where the group has been tightening its strategy to focus on value over volume, double-digit sales rises came from Meiomi and The Prisoner Wine Co on the wine side and from High West American whiskey and Casa Noble Tequila.
For the full financial year, however, the combined wine & spirits stable should post a 1%-3% dip in sales, the group noted, without providing further details.
Constellation has a current market capitalisation of just over $43.6bn.
Official Q1 fiscal-2023 results statement.
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