- Third fiscal quarter – to end of January – up in sales terms by 6% at US$1.03bn
- Sales in the first nine months of current financial year rise 2% to $3.08bn
- Forecast full-year sales increase of between 2% and 4% reaffirmed
A healthy three-month period to the end of January has pulled Brown-Forman’s fiscal 2025 into positive territory.
After booking a flat sales performance from the first half of the current financial year three months ago, the Jack Daniel’s owner today (5 March) reported a top-line increase of 6% in its Q3. For the year-to-date, the group’s sales sit at +2%, one of the more impressive recent performances among the listed spirits brand owners in Global Drinks Intel‘s coverage.
Leading the way brands-wise for Brown-Forman was Diplomático, which joined the portfolio in late 2022; the Venezuelan rum delivered a 43% leap in nine-month sales, eclipsing the rest of the brand stable by far. As for Jack Daniel’s, the flagship American whiskey was up 2% YTD on a 3% decline in volumes. The group noted, however, that the “super-premium Jack Daniel’s expressions” dragged on the mark’s sales, having had to cycle a “strong prior-year comparison partially due to a number of product launches”.
Elsewhere, Brown-Forman’s tequila duo have had a torrid year to date with both El Jimador and Herradura down by 11% in value terms. The performances were blamed on “a competitive environment in the US along with challenging macroeconomic conditions in Mexico”.
On a geographical basis, the US slipped by 1% for the company – an improvement on the prior-year period’s 2% decline. Brown-Forman noted an “estimated net increase in distributor inventories” in the US for the nine months, indicating the conclusion of the destocking moves of recent years by distributors in the country.
Elsewhere, the absence of the Finlandia vodka brand, sold to Coca-Cola HBC in late 2023, skewed results from the ‘developed international’ and ’emerging’ market groupings. The former dipped 1% sales-wise, although Diplomático made a “positive contribution” in the region, while ’emerging markets’ were up by 8%.
“We are pleased to reaffirm our outlook for organic top and bottom line growth in fiscal 2025,” said CEO Lawson Whiting. ““While we anticipate continued uncertainty and headwinds in the external environment, we are also confident that we have the right … strategy in place to take advantage of ongoing growth opportunities.”
