Constellation Brands on Track for New High After Earnings

On a GAAP basis, EPS totaled $0.58, which excludes $10.4 million in SG&A expenses and includes $5.2 million as a provision for income taxes, among other items. Net income on an adjusted basis is $9.1 higher than GAAP income.

Constellation raised its forecast for adjusted diluted EPS for the fiscal year ending in February from a range of $2.00 to $2.10 to a new range of $2.10 to $2.20. The company’s EPS for its 2012 fiscal year totaled $2.34. The forecast does not include any impact from Constellation’s acquisition of the remaining 50% of Crown Imports, scheduled to close in the first calendar quarter of 2013. The driver for the increased guidance is a lower-than-expected effective tax rate.

The company’s president/CEO said:

The year is unfolding as we expected and we are on track to meet our financial and strategic goals for the year. We continue to experience strong marketplace momentum across our beer, wine and spirits portfolio and we were well positioned at retail during the key holiday selling season.

Equity earnings from its current 50% stake in Crown Imports totaled $39 million.

In premarket trading today, shares are up about 3.8%, at $37.42 in a 52-week range of $18.50 to $37.57. Prior to today’s report, Thomson Reuters had a target price of around $40.80 on the company’s shares.