LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Brown-Forman Corp.’s fourth-quarter profit spiked from the sale of its California-based Fetzer Vineyards, capping a year that showed strong growth for its flagship Jack Daniel’s brand and el Jimador tequila.
The company, whose brands include Southern Comfort and Finlandia vodka, on Thursday reported a 26-cent-per-share gain from the sale of Fetzer to Chilean wine producer Vina Concha y Toro S.A. The $238 million deal closed in April.
Brown-Forman, based in Louisville, Ky., also reported strong yearlong sales for its super-premium brands.
For the three months ended April 30, the company reported net income of $165.4 million, or $1.13 per share. That’s up from $72.7 million, or 49 cents per share, from a year ago. Excluding gains from the Fetzer sale along with certain one-time tax benefits, the company said its earnings were 80 cents per share.
Revenue rose 8 percent to $791.3 million.
Analysts expected earnings of 64 cents a share on revenue of $757 million. The earnings estimates exclude one-time items.
For the full year, Brown-Forman reported net income of $571.6 million, or $3.90 per share. That compares with $449.2 million, or $3.02 per share, the year before. Revenue for the year rose 6 percent to $3.4 billion.
Excluding the Fetzer sale and
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