By Aida Pelaez-Fernandez
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Shares in Becle, the world’s largest tequila producer, rose 3% on Wednesday, after it reported a 15% increase in first-quarter profits from a year ago, exceeding market expectations, and promised payouts for shareholders.
In addition to the Jose Cuervo family tequilas, the company produces other spirits, including mezcal, whiskey, and gin.
It attributed the net profit boost to lower input costs and exchange-rate tailwinds given the Mexican peso’s depreciation, in a report published after the market close on Tuesday.
Chief Financial Officer Rodrigo de la Maza said in a call with analysts on Wednesday the company would propose a cash dividend payment and an extension of its share repurchase program at the general shareholders meeting, scheduled for later in the day.
He also reinstated the company’s 2025 sales outlook, foreseeing a mid-single-digit sales growth.
When asked if the sales outlook assumed foreign exchange would stay at current levels, he declined to disclose the company’s rates expectations and how it would affect future results.
Analysts said the results were strong.
“Cuervo presented a positive quarterly report, mainly supported by the exchange rate effect that offset the contraction of volumes in all regions due to the industry weakness,” Ve Por Mas analysts said in a note.
(Reporting by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez and Noe Torres; Editing by Brendan O’Boyle, Cassandra Garrison and Barbara Lewis)
