MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Becle, the world’s largest tequila producer, on Wednesday posted a second-quarter profit more than four times higher than a year earlier, surpassing analysts’ forecasts as it benefited from foreign-exchange gains.
“This growth was driven mainly by an increase in operating income and a gain in net financial income,” Becle said in a statement, pointing to a weaker Mexican currency boosting its sales in the United States and Canada in peso terms.
Net profit hit 2.0 billion pesos ($106.6 million), above the 1.8 billion pesos estimated by analysts polled by LSEG, while revenues ticked up 2.8% to 11.6 billion pesos, a touch below analysts’ 11.7-billion-peso forecast.
“During the first half of 2025, we continue to operate in a volatile and competitive global environment,” management said in a statement, adding it was seeing early signs of improvement in certain markets and working toward “a more balanced alignment between shipments and depletions.”
The Jose Cuervo maker makes the bulk of its income from tequilas but also produces a range of spirits such as Creyente mezcal, Stranahan’s whiskey, Kraken rum and Boodles gin.
It pointed to 557 million pesos in foreign-exchange gains that helped reverse a more than 1.3-billion-peso net financial loss recorded a year earlier.
The Mexican peso weakened some 2.6% to the U.S. dollar in the 12 months through to the end of June. Last year, Becle made nearly 60% of its net sales in the U.S. and Canada, and a further 25% in its home market of Mexico.
While the U.S. has threatened fresh tariffs against Mexico, its top trade partner, from August 1, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Sunday signaled that goods covered by the USMCA free trade pact – such as tequila – would remain exempt.
($1 = 18.7654 pesos at end-June)
(Reporting by Sarah Morland; Editing by Kylie Madry)
Comments