Settling starts for Brown-Forman in US as financial year closes up 10% – results data

Brown-Forman has hit its target of full-year, double-digit sales growth – just – as fourth-quarter sales almost repeated Q3’s +5% top-line showing.

Three months on from posting a mid-single-digit sales rise from the three months to the end of January, the Jack Daniel’s brand owner this week booked a lift for the 12 months to the end of April of 10%. The fiscal year has H1 to thank, when the top line was up 17%.

While the flagship Tennessee whiskey brand brought in an 8% lift in the year, thanks to its performance internationally and in the global travel retail channel, higher-end Bourbon continues to shine with the combined portfolio up 24% in value sales and Woodford Reserve jumping by 27%.

At the other end of the price ladder, the group's RTD line - again for the full year - capitalised on consumers' preference for convenience as sales increased by 20%. Jack Daniel's-branded RTDs, led by the Jack & Coke premix that was unveiled in the US in March, was up 16%.

Elsewhere in the portfolio, the two tequila brands, Herradura and El Jimador, delivered growth rates of +10% and +14%, respectively.

A normalisation of sales growth appears to have kicked in in the US, where 12-month sales inched up 3%. The global travel retail channel, meanwhile, continues to deliver healthy year-on-year numbers, leaping by 43% in fiscal 2023 following the previous year's +67% jump.

Looking to the current financial year and Brown-Forman has forecast a 5%-7% range for its sales growth. "We are optimistic about our prospects for growth of organic net sales and organic operating income in fiscal 2024," the company said. "We believe trends will normalise after two consecutive years of double-digit organic net sales growth."

Brown-Forman's official Q4 & FY fiscal 2023 results announcement.

Group presentation on recent performance.

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