Jack Daniel's maker Brown-Forman profit beats, flags tariff worries

[June 06, 2018]    (Reuters) - Brown-Forman Corp <BFb.N> <BFa.N> edged past Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday but warned that its outlook was clouded by potential retaliatory tariffs from top U.S. trade allies.

A bottle of Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey is seen on a shelf at the Vin Place wine and liquors store in Beijing, China April 10, 2018. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Earlier this month, Mexico imposed a 25 percent tariff on bourbon imports, while the European Union and Canada said they would slap duties on American goods including Jack Daniel's whiskey in retaliation to import duties on metals by the United States.

"The competitive landscape in the developed world remains intense, not to mention concerns over potential retaliatory tariffs on American spirits," the company said in a statement.

Brown-Foreman expects earnings per share of $1.75 to $1.85 in fiscal year 2019, with midpoint of the range coming in below the analysts' forecast of $1.82 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Net income for the Jack Daniel's whiskey maker fell to $110 million, or 23 cents per share, in the quarter ended April 30, from $144 million, or 30 cents per share, a year earlier.

Net sales rose 5.6 percent to $733 million.

Analysts had expected the company to earn 22 cents per share on revenue of $755.4 million in the quarter.

(Reporting by Nivedita Balu and Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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