Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ) reported its fiscal fourth-quarter financial results Thursday before the markets opened as $1.03 in earnings per share (EPS) on $1.36 billion in revenue. That compared with Thomson Reuters consensus estimates of $0.94 in EPS on $1.36 billion in revenue. In the same quarter of the previous year, it posted $0.81 in EPS on $1.29 billion in revenue.

The company gave guidance for the 2016 fiscal year of EPS in the range of $4.70 to $4.90 and free cash flow of approximately $100 million to $200 million. There is a consensus EPS estimate of $4.85.

For the 2015 fiscal year, free cash flow totaled $362 million, compared to $603 million in the previous year.

For the quarter, the beer segment from Constellation Brands reported $661 million in net sales, up 11% from the previous year, with an operating income up 9% to $217.2 million. The wine and spirits segment reported $691.9 in net sales, which remained almost unchanged from the previous year, operating income was down 2% at $161.9 million.

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Rob Sands, President and CEO of Constellation Brands, commented on the segments:

We have completed another year of impressive results propelled by our Mexican beer business, which continues its incredible momentum and remains strongly positioned to generate ongoing sustainable growth. We outperformed the U.S. beer industry for the fifth consecutive year while achieving growth for every brand in our Mexican beer portfolio. Within our wine and spirits business, we achieved strong earnings growth and margin expansion, while delivering better than expected results for our spirits portfolio.

The board of directors has approved the initiation of a dividend program for the first time in company history. The quarterly cash dividend was declared as $0.31 per share on class A common stock and $0.28 per share on class B common stock, payable on May 22, 2015, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on May 8, 2015.

Sands expanded on the reasoning behind initiating a dividend:

The collective strength of these businesses has provided the foundation that enables us to initiate a common stock cash dividend for the first time in the history of our company, as announced earlier today. This action reflects our confidence in the long-term sustainability of our business strategy, future growth potential and the expected strength of our cash flows.

Constellation Brands’ shares closed Wednesday up 0.8% at $119.17. Following the release of the earnings report, shares were down 1% at $118.00 in premarket trading. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $120.53 and a 52-week trading range of $76.26 to $120.24.

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