Cuervo parent Becle reports 9.4% increase in Q1 net profit

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexican distiller Becle, better known as the parent company of the popular Jose Cuervo tequila brand, posted a 9.4% increase in first-quarter net profit driven by increased sales, particularly in tequila, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

Becle’s net profit rose to 1.35 billion pesos ($67.9 million).

Revenue for the company, whose portfolio includes dozens of well-known alcoholic beverage brands, climbed 26.5% from a year earlier to 9.07 billion pesos as demand increased, particularly in the United States and Canada. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization for the quarter rose to 2.19 billion pesos.

Analysts at Barclay’s said in a note following the report that Becle had posted strong results, with profitability ahead of estimates. However, they said, some non-production costs and distribution costs for the company had been higher than expected.

Becle executives said last quarter they expected to raise prices throughout the year to deal with pressures related to supply chains. ($1 = 19.8911 pesos by end-March)

(Reporting by Kylie Madry and Noe Torres; Editing by Sandra Maler, Bernard Orr and Bradley Perrett)