Before the opening bell on Tuesday, alcoholic beverage producer Constellation Brands, Inc. (STZ) is scheduled to report its first quarter financial results, with analysts expecting the company to report a rise in earnings from the previous year.
Wall Street analysts will be keeping a close eye on Constellation Brand's quarterly results, as the company has sold a number of its assets in recent months.
Analysts expect the Fairport, New York-based company to report earnings of $0.31 a share, up from last year's profit of $0.21 per share.
In mid-June, Constellation Brands sold certain U.S. wine assets to privately held Eight Estates Fine Wines, LLC, doing business as Ascentia Wine Estates.
Under the terms of the deal, Constellation Brands received $209 million in cash and could receive up to an additional $25 million in payments if the buyer achieves certain objectives. The company intends to use the proceeds to reduce borrowings.
Included in the sale were assets of Geyser Peak, Buena Vista, Gary Farrell, Atlas Peak and XYZ in California, which were acquired from Fortune Brands in December 2007. Constellation said some brands acquired from Corus Brands in 2001 also formed part of the deal. Collectively, these brands represented about one million cases of wine sold in the 2007 calendar year.
In late May, Diageo PLC (DEO), the world's largest liquor maker, reached n agreement in principle with Constellation Spirits, a division of Constellation Brands, to buy the Schenley Distillery and Bottling plant, located in Valleyfield, Quebec.
Constellation said the sale of the Valleyfield, Quebec, facility eliminates excess capacity and consolidates the company's operations.
Constellation will move its Valleyfield production to the company's distillery and bottling facility in Lethbridge, Alberta.
In early April, Constellation Brands reported that it slipped to a loss in the fourth quarter, reflecting higher one-time charges and a drop in net sales. On a comparable basis, earnings per share declined but topped the Wall Street consensus by nine cents. Looking ahead, the company at the time said it expects a turnaround in fiscal 2009 on a reported basis and higher earnings on a comparable basis.
The company's fourth quarter net loss was $831.9 million, compared to a profit of $70.2 million a year ago. Loss per class A common stock was $3.90, compared to a profit of $0.29 a year ago. Loss per share class B common stock was $3.54, compared to a profit of $0.27 in the prior year quarter.
In the quarter, pre-tax acquisition-related integration costs,
restructuring and related charges and unusual items totaled $888 million, compared to $23 million for the prior year.
On a comparable basis, excluding one-time items, the company's net income declined 13% to $74 million from $84.8 million last year, while earnings per share dropped 3% to $0.34 from prior year's profit of $0.35 per share.
On average, 10 analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial expected earnings of $0.25 per share for the quarter.
Looking ahead to fiscal 2009, Constellation Brands said it expects earnings, on a reported basis, in a range of $1.46 - $1.54 per share, compared to previous year's loss of $2.82 per share.
On a comparable basis, the company predicts earnings of $1.68 - $1.76 per share, higher than the $1.44 per share reported for fiscal 2008. The company also forecast reported sales growth in mid single-digits and organic net sales growth in the high single-digits.
Analysts expect earnings of $1.67 per share for fiscal 2009, with estimates ranging between $1.53 and $1.76 per share on revenues of $4 billion, representing 6% year-over-year growth.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.