Brown-Forman Corporation Beats Q2 Estimates; Reaffirms Outlook (BF-B)

Before the bell on Wednesday, Brown-Forman (BF-B) announced its second quarter and first half earnings results, posting increases in sales and earnings.

BF-B Earnings in Brief

-Brown-Forman reported net sales for Q2 of $1.08 billion, a 6% increase from 2012′s Q2 sales of $1.01 billion.
-The company’s net income came in at $206 million, or 96 cents per diluted share, and increase from last year’s Q2 net income of $173 million, or 80 cents per diluted share.
-Brown-Forman beat analysts’ estimates of 91 cents EPS on revenues of $1.04 billion.
-The alcoholic beverages company reaffirmed its guidance for fiscal 2014, and sees EPS in the range of $2.80-$3.00.

CEO Commentary

Brown-Forman CEO Paul Varga had the following comments: "Fueled by the Jack Daniel's trademark, the company's second quarter and first half results were very strong. We continued to generate an excellent balance of geographic growth, including strong growth in the emerging markets. We are particularly pleased with Brown-Forman's results in light of recent industry commentary around a slowdown in global spirits momentum, and we are reaffirming our expectations for excellent full year growth in underlying operating income."

Recent Dividend Increase

Brown-Forman announced a 13.7% increase to its dividend payout on November 21. The payout increased to 29 cents per quarter, or $1.16 annually. The dividend is payable on December 27, 2013 to all shareholders on record as of December 11.

Stock Performance

Investors have not had a chance to react to BF-B’s strong quarter, as the stock was inactive in pre-market trading. YTD, the stock is up 16.55%.