Brown-Forman, the parent company of Jack Daniel's, has seen its reported net sales rise by 2% in the first six months of its financial year, to $1.68 billion.
The company said that its reported net sales growth for the period was negatively impacted by around two percentage points due to foreign exchange effects.
Reported operating income for the first half was flat at $596 million (+4% on an underlying basis).
Consistent Delivery
“Tariff-related buy-ins helped power first quarter results, while the anticipated giveback materialised in the second quarter, resulting in 5% underlying net sales growth during the first half,” commented Paul Varga, the company’s chief executive.
“This growth demonstrates the consistency of our revenue delivery, especially against strong, 7% underlying net sales growth during the same period last year. Given easier back half comparisons and our momentum, we are on track for another year of 6-7% underlying net sales growth.”
Jack Daniel's posted 3% underlying net sales growth during the period, with the Jack Daniel's family of brands seeing sales grow by 5% (+2% on a reported basis).
The company’s ‘super-premium’ American whiskey brands, meanwhile, grew underlying net sales 19% (+12% reported), including 25% underlying net sales growth from Woodford Reserve (+24% reported).
Premium Portfolio
“Our premium portfolio of American whiskey brands, led by Jack Daniel’s and bolstered by Woodford Reserve, continued to deliver balanced geographic growth,” said chief operating officer Lawson Whiting.
“While we are largely absorbing the tariff costs during fiscal 2019, we are confident in the long-term growth potential for our brands as we continue to build awareness with new consumers and increase our global distribution.”
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine
