Becle SAB de CV
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Becle SAB de CV
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Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for joining Becle's Second Quarter Unaudited Financial Results Call. During the call, you may hear certain forward-looking statements. These statements may relate to our future prospects, developments and business strategies, and may be identified by our use of terms and phrases such as anticipate, believe, could, estimate, expect, intend, may, plan, predict, project, will, goals, target strategies and similar terms and phrases and may include references to assumptions.
Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions regarding our business, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, by their nature, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and challenges and circumstances that are difficult to predict. Our actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements.
All of our foregoing reasons, you are cautioned against relying on such forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Before we begin, we would like to remind you that the figures discussed on the call today are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards or IFRS and published in the Mexican Stock Exchange. The information for second quarter of 2023 is preliminary and is provided with the understanding that once financial statements are available, updated information will be shared in the appropriate electronic formats. [Operator Instructions]
So without further ado, I would now like to pass the line to Becle's CEO, Mr. Juan Domingo Beckmann. Please go ahead, sir.
Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today as we discuss Becle's second quarter 2023 results. The second quarter had both challenges and opportunities across our regions. We started to see a recent decline in the third-party agave market price as a result of the wave of plants now available for crop. However, the appreciation of the Mexican peso against the U.S. dollar has more than offset any benefit seen from recent lower agave prices.
We continue to monitor this situation closely and remain committed to our pricing and product mix strategies moving forward. In the U.S. and Canada volume net sales were down versus the second quarter of 2022. Primarily driven by off-cycle price increases and challenges in our ready-to-drink category, which faced an increasingly competitive environment. However, our premium tequila segment remained strong, outpacing overall tequila growth in the region as per recent news and readings.
On the other hand, Mexico experienced a strong year-over-year increase in net sales during the quarter, primarily driven by growth in the tequila category, along with the overall success of our premiumization strategy.
In the EMEA region, there was a notable year-over-year volume and net sales increase despite consumer concerns arising from inflationary pressures. Similarly, the APAC region saw substantial growth, mainly driven by the post-COVID recovery [ on ] subsequent business reopenings. These positive outcomes were primarily attributed to the rising demand for our products as evidenced by growth in our tequila and whiskey sales in both regions as compared to the second quarter of 2022.
Overall, we remain confident in our brands' enduring value and our continued ability to deliver sustainable growth for our shareholders. The consistent demand for our key brands alongside the lasting popularity of tequila has played a vital role in upholding the strength and resilience of our core business.
I will now turn the call over to Luis Felix to further discuss our U.S. and Canada results.
Thank you, Juan, and good morning, everyone. The United States and Canada quarter 2 business began to normalize after April. The April declines were led by the change in the price increase cycle year-over-year. As the business entered May, the tequila portfolio showed strong depletion growth, which continued during the month of June.
Kindly note that the results in the following remarks were prepared on a constant currency basis. Net sales value declined by 1.4% compared to the second quarter of 2022, mainly driven by a change in the timing of price increases year-over-year. In the second quarter of 2022, our tequila sales benefited from price increases in the quarter, whereas in 2023, these price increases occurred in January during the first quarter.
Shipments for the second quarter were down 5.6% compared to the previous year, primarily due to the challenges faced by the strong April '22 shipments right before the implementation of the price increase.
Depletions for the quarter started to normalize following the first quarter of the year. In April, the U.S. and Canada depletions declined. However, as the quarter progressed, the tequila portfolio proved resilient with depletions growing by 29% in May and [ 30% ] in June compared to the same months of last year. And the whiskey portfolio, depletions decreased by 4% in the quarter.
Our distributor partners depleted more than they shipped, resulting in a slight reduction of inventories across the U.S. This trend is encouraging as we enter the second half of the year. We expect distributors to restock their inventory to agreed upon levels during the third quarter of 2023 in preparation for the holiday season. This has already been evident in July, pointing to a growth in shipments and favorable brand mix for the upcoming quarter.
Our performance in the U.S. during the quarter stood out positively compared to our peers based on the 13-week Nielsen value indicators. Our tequila portfolio grew by 9%, outpacing the category 7% growth rate. Similarly, our whiskey portfolio showed strong performance, increasing by 10%, while the total whiskey category grew by 1%. Proximo's NAFTA numbers are also showing positive performance. In the second quarter of 2023, our NAFTA consumer value grew 6.6%, outperforming the industry average of 3.7%.
Overall, during the second quarter, we completed our price increase execution and observed a steady rebound in our portfolio performance as the quarter progressed. Looking ahead, we remain confident in our premiumization strategy and portfolio mix, which we expect will lead to stronger results in the second half of 2023. This is supported by the increased consumer spending in our key categories and the ongoing improvement of the RTD category.
I will now turn the call over to Olga Limon to discuss the Mexico and Latin America results.
Thank you, Luis, and good morning, everyone. Mexico experienced a promising second quarter, primarily due to the continued growth of our tequila portfolio and improved glass availability. Even though we had a slight decline in volume compared to the previous year on the back of the distribution shift of our Boost brand, we saw a strong 17.7% increase in net sales value during the quarter mainly driven by the full effect of our March price increase as well as the execution of our premiumization strategy.
In volume without the Boost distribution disruption effect, we would have grown 10%. The business landscape in Latin America poses challenges on both the economic and political front, impacting the industry as a whole.
Additionally, unfavorable macroeconomic conditions prevail in most countries of the region, resulting in volume declines in certain markets. However, we continue to possess an exceptional opportunity to expand our premiumization strategy within this market. We're still on track with our long-term growth plans and are encouraged by the near complete normalization of our supply chain, providing us with crucial operational stability.
Overall, despite macroeconomic challenges in Mexico and Latin, we're able to post resilient results. Our core tequila business exhibited strong growth, demonstrating its brand value and leadership. We continue to monitor our overall brand portfolio closely as the market is facing a contraction, and there are signs of potential down trading.
I will now turn the call over to Gordon Dron, Managing Director of EMEA and APAC region. Thank you.
Thanks, Olga, and good afternoon from Europe. The region's economic and business backdrop continues to diverge. In the EU, inflation is starting to slow down, although it's proven to be slightly stickier than we anticipated. Headline inflation in the EU has decreased to 5.5%, while the U.K. consumer price index has decreased by 0.8% to 7.9%, first decline in it for over a year.
The increase in the interest rates driven by fiscal policy is affecting consumer spending, resulting in a slower start to the summer of 2023 compared to 2022. From a depletions perspective, it's hard to know how much of this is due to economic uncertainty in 2023 or the end of COVID travel restrictions in May 2022 when there was a significant surge in summer travel and consumer spending fueled by saved cash.
Shipments until the end of June have remained strong with an anticipation of a robust summer based on hotel bookings. Sales in EMEA and APAC through Q2 2023 have increased by 26.6% compared to Q2 2022, and shipment year-to-date are running at 31.3% higher than the same period in 2022. However, we've seen a slower rate of depletions in Q2 2023 compared to Q2 '22 running at 95% of the previous year. Year-to-date depletion was 99% compared to the previous year.
Additionally, we are observing a resurgence of low-price tequila as supplies begin to ease. Within EMEA, there are a number of key markets that are performing well, while others are more impacted by the economic pressures, such as France and Italy. EMEA Q2 2023 sales of 24.7% above the same period last year and year-to-date plus 22.9%.
In Asia, there continues to be a post-COVID boom, especially since Q3 2022, where many Asian markets relaxed [indiscernible] and COVID testing requirements. Consequently, APAC Q2 2023 shows a strong growth compared to the same period of last year with depletions registering an increase of plus 16.2%.
Year-to-date, depletions have also performed strongly with a growth rate of plus 24.6% compared to the same period of last year.
Shipments follow depletions resulting in a year-to-date increase of 52% compared to June year-to-date 2022. The outlook in Europe remains uncertain with consumer spending during the summer vacation period being a determining factor. In Asia, except for China, which is slow to recover from post-COVID, we have a higher level of confidence in the outlook for the remainder of the year.
I will now pass you over to Fernando Suárez, who will take you through the financial results.
Thank you, and good morning, everyone. I will now walk you through the financial results of the second quarter of 2023. The company reported a 2% year-over-year decrease in consolidated net sales to MXN 11.1 billion. Pro forma for a constant currency basis, our top-line increased by 7% during the quarter. This increase was driven by a product mix skewed towards brands with higher sales per case and year-on-year price increases.
Gross profit decreased 5% in the second quarter to MXN 5.6 billion, while gross margin decreased from 52.4% in the second quarter of 2022 to 50.8% in the same period of this year. The decrease in gross margin was primarily due to foreign currency effects caused by the appreciation of the Mexican peso against the U.S. dollar and an unfavorable change in the geographic mix. This was partially offset by price increases across the regions and a recent decline in the agave market pricing environment.
Quarter-over-quarter, AMP expenses increased 7% to MXN 2.5 billion. As a percentage of net sales, AMP increased from 20.4% in the second quarter of 2022 to 22.4% in the same period of 2023. This increase reflects the planned timing of AMP spend relative to the prior year period. Distribution expenses decreased 3% to MXN 504 million compared to the second quarter of 2022, driven by lower logistics and carrier costs.
As a percentage of net sales, distribution expenses remained flat at 4.6% versus the same period of 2022. SG&A expenses experienced a year-over-year increase of 10% representing 9.3% of net sales compared to 8.2% in the second quarter of 2022. This was primarily attributed to a decline in net sales and overall inflationary pressures impacting the cost structure.
Operating income decreased 23% for the quarter, while the operating margin decreased to -- decreased from 18.8% in the second quarter of 2022 to 14.9% in the second quarter of this year. EBITDA for the second quarter decreased by 18% quarter-over-quarter to MXN 1.9 billion with an EBITDA margin of 17.3%.
Net financial results for the quarter posted a gain of MXN 203 million, primarily driven by the strengthening of the Mexican peso against the U.S. dollar in comparison to the second quarter of 2022.
Consolidated net income decreased by 5% to MXN 1.3 billion with a net margin of 12% compared to 12.4% in the second quarter of 2022.
Earnings per share for the quarter reached MXN 0.37. As of June 30, cash and cash equivalents were MXN 4.3 billion, and total debt was MXN 17.6 billion.
In line with the company's capital allocation program outlined during the Annual General Ordinary Shareholders' Meeting held on April 28 this year, our cash dividend payment will be distributed on August 3. Each outstanding share representing Becle's capital stock will receive a dividend of MXN 0.49128.
Regarding guidance, we maintain our expectations for high single-digit consolidated revenue growth on a constant currency basis for the full year. Additionally, we expect full year CapEx to range between $200 million and $225 million.
Finally, we are proud to announce the release of our first fully integrated annual report with detailed ESG disclosure. This marks a key milestone for the company and highlights our commitment to creating value for our consumers, partners and shareholders while prioritizing responsible corporate governance, our people, sustainability and the preservation of the environment for future generations.
We will now turn the call back over to the operator for questions and answers.
[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Mr. Ricardo Alves from Morgan Stanley.
You mentioned in the release and now in the remarks, the lower agave prices. I think that this is one of the most interesting aspects of the release itself as the results were not that [ far ]. Can you add more color there? Was there something actually materially impacting the quarter as it pertains to agave or was it kind of a small correction that you guys saw? Or maybe it was something just late in the quarter. So even if qualitatively speaking, if you can add a little bit more granularity on your agave comments. That will be helpful.
My second question on Other Tequilas. A little bit of a deceleration in the -- obviously, the consolidated Other Tequilas volumes up 4%. So the run rate over the past several years seems to have slowed down. So can you comment specifically in the U.S., when you think about Other Tequilas, when you think about the premium portfolio, did you continue to see kind of solid high single, low double-digit growth for 1,800 and above brands? Or did you see actually kind of a hiccup in the quarter? And then maybe actually also Other Tequilas/premium tequilas commentary in Mexico, that would be helpful as well, actually.
Thank you, Ricardo, for the questions. Let me address the first question, and then we will pass it along to Luis and Olga for the Other Tequilas in U.S. and Mexico. As I commented in our scripted remarks and in our release, we have seen the price of agave go below MXN 20 in the past few months very recently and into the high teens, specifically from MXN 16 to MXN 18 per kilo is where we have recently been seeing the price of agave.
However, that decrease in the prices of agave is too recent, and we're still struggling with FX pressures from the appreciation of the Mexican peso. So that's what we see in terms of margin. And although decreasing agave prices coupled with a more normalized supply chain situation and milder dry goods cost inflation are all positive favorables in the medium term. We still need to deal with FX headwinds in the short term. Let me pass it along to Luis and Olga.
Okay. Thank you, Ricardo, for your question. In the case of Other Tequilas in the U.S., we did see complications in the month of April because of the -- what we mentioned before of price increases that were taken last year in May. So we get some extra orders in the month of April of last year. So that comparison was -- affected us in terms of Other Tequilas. But if you look at the Nielsen data that we have. Basically, all of our tequilas are performing extremely well, growing double digits. So we see that basically, our tequilas are continuing to gain strength in the U.S., the super premium tequilas. And what we are also seeing is that the ultrapremium, the very expensive more than 100 tequila [indiscernible]. They're all coming down to weak. We have a very strong position in the super premium tequila and we are seeing a strong growth in the Nielsen data.
Just to comment regarding tequila, the agave. We have to remember that we start seeing the low price, as Fernando mentioned. But in the process, we spent more than 3 to 6 months to catch the whole pricing in our cost because this is all the average prices that we put inside of the company, and we are not expecting to see the low -- they go down very fast. So we are seeing in a slow way during the closing of the year.
There was a question from Mexico. Could you repeat it again, please?
Absolutely. It's the same question actually, just your Other Tequilas or premium tequilas performance throughout the quarter.
We are growing in all of our price segments, but our standard and premium segment has been outperforming the rest of the [ prior ] points within the tequila portfolio. So we have a strong position in every right segment, but we are seeing a little bit of a trade down.
Our next question comes from [indiscernible]
First one on Mexico, very good top line post driven by price, but I imagine that the Boost issue also had a little bit of an impact [ on the mix ]. So just wondering if you could break down the price mix between that mix effect of Boost and what happened with rates. And also on alcoholic beverages. That segment seems to have been going [indiscernible] into 2017, but kind of sort of [indiscernible] backward. And I think a piece of that is obviously [indiscernible], but just wondering if you could comment on the plans for that settlement going forward and how we should think about it out from our side.
Sorry. Was the question why did Boost go down?
No. The question. Obviously, Boost has a different price level than [indiscernible]. So the fact that you had distribution problems likely affected the price mix that we're seeing in Mexico. So I just wanted to see more or less what the effect was on the price from the Boost issues.
That's correct. Well, the price -- I mean, the mix of the composition of the net sales value went up, but we did have, like I said, an outperformance of the standard and premium segment. So that is why you might not be seeing the effect. But when you compare the first -- the second Q from 2022 to the Q of '23, you do see a per case increase. We had a per case of MXN 1,373 per case versus 2023 MXN 1,627 per case. So when you compare Q versus Q, you do see an increase in the per case.
Okay. That's helpful. And then my other question was on the nonalcoholic beverages segment, not sure who does that one.
Thank you. In the nonalcoholic business in the U.S., we saw a strong recovery in the second quarter in the Margarita Mix business. As you know, we have a distribution partner, and we saw a much better performance in the Margarita Mix in the second quarter. We exceeded our expectations. So we are, let's say, well positioned for the second half with [ McCormack ], which is our distributor. In ready-to-drink -- ready-to-serve business, we also saw some recovery at the end of the quarter. We saw a good performance in May and June as well as the -- as the other businesses we commented before, but that was also seen in the ready-to-serve business that we have.
Our next question comes from Mr. Benjamin Theurer from Barclays.
Thank you very much, and -- just 2 questions I have for you. So number one, if we take a look at the cash flow, there was a very meaningful outflow on payables. Just can you explain what's behind that? Is there anything in anticipation? Or was there anything in the trade relation that you had to liquidate on? Just to understand what's been the driver behind this massive change where the 6-month period last year? That would be my first question. Second comes in a second.
Ben, thank you for the question. On cash flow, on accounts payable, nothing out of the ordinary, just conducting our different working capital activities in the second quarter. So nothing there special to remark. And to your second question?
Okay. And then the second question is really about just the general dynamics in the market and for clarity on like how performance was throughout the quarter. But some of the leading indicators, could you share what you're seeing into the third quarter on the volume side, particularly in the U.S. so that we kind of get a better feeling how the second half might be looking like from a volume perspective.
This is [ Matt Fras ]. I'm happy to field that question. We've seen the continued recovery into July, both on depletion and on shipment standards. So good indication there. And we are poised to make up some days on hand in August versus our inventory. So all indications are, as we enter Q3, that the momentum that we saw in May and June is continuing across the portfolio both for tequila and whiskey. So signs are strong, and we're poised for a good second half at this time.
[Operator Instructions]. The next question comes from Andrea Teixeira from JPMorgan.
This is Drew Levine on for Andrea. So I just wanted to kind of pick up on the comment from [ Matt ] just before in relation to the maintained high single-digit organic growth guidance. So through the first half, organic seems to be running close to 10%. It seems like the U.S. trajectory is definitely improving. It seems like the underlying in Mexico is certainly stronger than reflected in the second quarter. So just given the high single digit does imply a bit of a deceleration in the back half. Just looking for some perspective maybe on what you're seeing in the environment that could be causing maybe a bit of conservatism on the downhill?
Drew thank you for the question. But what we're saying is we maintain our guidance of high single digit on a constant currency basis. We can comment a little bit more specifically or generically on the trends of the third quarter and fourth quarter in the U.S. Hopefully, Luis, can give us a little bit more color on how he sees the third quarter and fourth quarter playing out. Second half. Yes, second half in general.
Yes. This is Luis Felix. As we mentioned and Matt's commented before, we are seeing the second half will be not an easy second half, but we're seeing that the basic hiccups that we have in March and April are passed now, and we're seeing strong depletions in our tequila portfolio, a strong performance in the market. We also -- as we mentioned in the commentary, we still have some opportunities to recover some of the stocking that we saw in some of the distributors. So we foresee a second and third quarter -- a positive recovery in the second and third quarter. So we can get to the numbers that we proposed at the beginning of the year.
And then just 2 for Fernando quickly. Just on the gross margins, you'd be able to quantify the headwind from FX on gross margins, I guess, just getting to the question before on -- it seems to be that agave is turning favorable soon that should flow through and then some other commodities [indiscernible]. So just trying to get a sense of what the headwind was and just thinking about potentially conflicting gross margins back to -- back to the positive trend, perhaps next year? And then just, secondly, AMP was a bit higher, I think, than we were expecting. Just want to kind of see -- you mentioned phasing, if there should be kind of a perhaps a step down in the back half of the year from a year-over-year perspective? And just any perspective on the full year spend levels?
Yes, Drew. Regarding FX headwinds on gross margin for the quarter, pretty much like the previous quarter, we saw an order of magnitude of in or around 200 basis points of FX pressure alone. So in other words, without the FX pressure, we would have seen instead of a gross margin decrease, a gross margin expansion. And as noted earlier, recent agave pricing benefits do take time to flow through first the balance sheet as we have the product on the balance sheet in inventory. And then as the product flows through the P&L by way of sales. So it does take time to see a reflection of those agave price benefits into the P&L.
Regarding your third question, AMP, remember that we have guided towards a full year 22% in or around area of AMP as a percentage of NSV. We're printing 21.6% cumulative for the first 6 months. So it does have to do with phasing of the AMP and catching up. But our expectation is on a full year basis to achieve in or around 22%.
It looks like we have a follow-up question from Benjamin Theurer from Barclays.
Just back on the COGS side, and thanks for the clarification of these roughly 200 basis points. I wanted to understand the glass issues because obviously, we have those in the past. It seems they've been fading. Is there also a delay effect similar as there is a delay effect on agave to maybe see more of these benefits coming then into the back half? Or is there not as much of an inventory on the glass side that is higher price than we need to work through?
Yes. Glass and dry goods in general. I mean, we've seen the continued pressure on dry goods input costs, although we're recently seeing some flex or a break in such price increases. But we still need to see those price breaks or more milder price increases flow through the P&L. Yes, in general, not just glass, but the whole supply chain situation is normalizing, but we still need to see that reflected going forward in milder dry goods input costs.
Okay. Understood. And then actually, a second follow-up is on SG&A. And I think you've mentioned that, obviously, there are a few factors, inflationary pressure and so on that has been driving that up about MXN 100 million versus last year. But if we look at it, I mean, in dollar terms, it's obviously as well as somewhat meaningful. Can you share a little bit more color what you're expecting going forward on that line to be on a quarterly basis? Because it used to be always very, very stable like those non-fourth quarters, which tend to be higher, but aside from that, what like -- what should we expect go forward? Is that $1 billion plus level more realistic the $900 million plus?
Well, I mean, we've traditionally printed SG&A as a percentage of NSV in the high single-digit area. When you have a quarter in which you have softer sales, obviously, that ratio looks higher. We specifically printed 9.3%, as you well observed in the quarter versus 8.2%. But to the degree that we see a resumption in the sales momentum, we should be in that order of neighborhood of high single digit in terms of SG&A, which, by the way, compares rather well to other industry peers.
Our final question comes from Sergio Matsumoto from Citi.
The question is, in this environment with higher agave cost as in recent years and the stronger Mexican peso this year. How does your strategy to offset those pressures different from the other players in the global spirits space?
[Audio Gap]
The strategy is to try to increase prices as much as possible to try to control costs and the agave will help, but the problem now that we have is the exchange rate, that's not helping at all. So basically, that's the plan to premiumize faster our portfolio, which has more margin and hopefully -- and try to control the costs as much as possible.
Understood. And if I may, another one on the AMP investments. I know that lion's share of it gets spent in the U.S., but could you provide more color on the spend in Mexico and the rest of the world on the types of marketing activities you do in those regions, particularly as they are seeing this reopening momentum today.
As for Mexico, we have average spend of 15% of our net sales value in AMP. And we have strong programs for every brand in each price segment. And we are -- and this is reflecting on a very good growth in the portfolio in all price segments. So we have a good spend between ATL and BTL. We're very competitive in the market.
This is Gordon from EMEA APAC. So we're spending around just over 22% of AMP as a percentage of net sales. We have obviously different programs for different markets because tequila is particularly is a smaller category within our region. And therefore, there isn't a one size fits all solution or execution that we use across the region. The majority of our focus is on the on-trade because we're in the seeding, development and recruitment into the category, and therefore, the on-trade is the key driver for us.
We use social media now quite heavily because that's a very efficient way to target our consumers, but we don't really use classical mainstream advertising to a great degree because tequila still has some way to go before it would justify that type of expenditure.
I see no further questions at this point. So this concludes our conference call today. Thank you all for participating, and have a great weekend. We will now be closing all the lines. Thank you, and goodbye.