Corona beer owner Constellation Brands saw its full year sales, up 3% €7.67 billion ($8.34 billion), to end of February 2020.
The drinks giant posted a 6% net sales increase, in the fourth quarter of its financial year, to €1.76 billion ($1.9 billion), according to its recently published fiscal year and fourth quarter 2020 results and fiscal year 2021 outlook.
Wine & Beer Power Brands
Beer volumes at Constellation Brands were up 6.1% in the full-year and 7.2% in the final quarter of the year, with the group reporting its tenth successive year of beer volume growth, it said.
"Fiscal 20 represented another excellent year of strong results marked by milestones which include the achievement of record cash flow results and double digit operating income growth for our iconic beer business,” said Bill Newlands, president and chief executive.
“In addition, our Wine & Beer Power Brands and new product introductions fueled growth as our premiumization strategy for this business continues to gain momentum.”
Decline
The group said that its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) for the full year stood at $2.54 billion, a decline of 3%, while fourth-quarter EBIT was down by 2%, to $558 million.
It generated record operating and free cash flow, of almost $2.6 billion and $1.8 billion respectively, during the fiscal year, and managed to reduce its debt by more than $1.4 billion during the period.
Its Wine & Spirits division saw volumes down 8.4% for the year and down 1.4% in the final quarter, however this incorporates the sale of the Black Velvet Canadian Whisky business.
Target Assumptions 2021
Fiscal 2021 EPS guidance is unavailable at this time due to potential impacts on the business from COVID-19, the group said.
However, the company said that it expects its beer business to post net sales growth of between 7% and 8% this year, despite the impact of the coronavirus, due to positive sales uplift through retail channels.
Constellation brands said net sales and operating income decline of approximately 30% to 35%, respectively in its wine and spirits business.
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