Earnings Call Transcripts
Operator : Good morning, and thank you for joining Becle's Second Quarter Unaudited Financial Results Call. During this 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 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 changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Our actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Before we begin, we would like to remind you that the figures discussed on this call were prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS, and published in the Mexican Stock Exchange. The information for the second quarter of 2026 is preliminary and is provided with the understanding that once financial statements are available, updated information will be shared in the appropriate electronic formats. Now I will pass the call on to Becle's CEO, Mr. Juan Domingo Beckmann.
Juan Legorreta : Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today to discuss Becle's second quarter 2026 results. The global spirits landscape continued to face headwinds in the second quarter and throughout the first half of the year. Despite an increasingly cautious consumer and competitive environment, the resilience of our business and our core tequila category reinforce our confidence in the fundamental strength of our brand portfolio and business model. Encouraging signs of recovery in the U.S., coupled with sustained momentum in Mexico and rest of the world supports a more constructive outlook as we enter the second half of the year. During the quarter, we delivered mid-single-digit organic volume growth outside of the U.S. while sustaining a strong EBITDA margin on a constant currency basis, plus healthy cash flow generation and leverage ratios. Although the appreciating peso weighted our reported numbers, our financial situation is solid and puts us in a strong position to continue advancing our strategic agenda. In Mexico, we continue to gain market share across both the tequila category and total spirits in both volume and value. Our Rest of the World region also maintained its positive momentum, supported by the continued growth and progress in our strategic priority markets. We remain realistic about the environment but confident in our direction. Our focus remains on the strength of our brands and disciplined execution across every region and market as we continue to construct long-term profitable growth. With that, I will turn it over to Mauricio Vergara to walk us through our U.S. and Canada results in greater detail.
Mauricio Herrera : Thank you, Juan. And good morning, everyone. During the second quarter, our performance in the U.S. and Canada region continued to reflect the transition we outlined at the start of the year, driven by the execution of our distributor realignment strategy and the deliberate reduction of inventory levels following the build at the end of 2025. While reported results remained soft, they were in line with our expectations, and we delivered sequential improvement versus the first quarter, reinforcing our confidence that the business is moving in the right direction. Shipments declined 8.7% during the quarter, reflecting both the ongoing distribution transition and continued inventory reductions. As we have previously highlighted, shipments are not fully representative of the underlying demand in this environment. Depletions provide a clearer view of performance, declining 4.7% overall. This continues to reflect the divergence between transition and non-transition markets with non-transition markets declining approximately 3.7%, while transition markets declined approximately 8.4%. I would emphasize that our non-transition markets are performing better than the overall category where our route to market is stable, demand for our brands remains healthy and the distinction remains critical to understand the underlying performance of our business. From a category standpoint, pressure on full-strength spirits persisted during the quarter as prepared cocktails remain the primary driver of industry growth and the gap between demand for ready-to-drink formats and full-strength spirits continues to widen. According to SipSource data through May, full-strength spirits depletions declined 5.5% with tequila down 4.7%. While tequila is not immune to the broader slowdown, it remains one of the most resilient categories and continues to outperform the broader full-strength spirits market. Within our portfolio, we continue to see clear pockets of growth, reflecting our strategic bets. RTDs delivered another quarter of double-digit growth, supported by increased focus and investment. This reinforces our confidence that participating in the right consumer occasions through innovation in this category is the right strategy. Our core portfolio essentially held its ground through a structural shift in the market. The ultra-premium segment also continues to grow strongly and is increasingly supporting our mix as it scales. Turning to consumer takeaway. Nielsen data through June 20 shows Proximo's tequila volumes declined 6.6% against an industry that declined of 4.1%. While our spirit volumes, excluding prepared cocktails, declined 7.5% versus a 5.4% decline for the broader market. When we isolate the markets least affected by the transition, the underlying strength of our brands becomes much clearer. In the controlled states, NABCA, which are the most reflective of true consumer pull, we have now delivered 6 consecutive months of share growth in total tequila. This gives us confidence that our strategy is working and that the pressure we're seeing is concentrated in the open markets undergoing the route-to-market transition rather than in genuine consumer demand for our brands. On inventory, we are now through most of the rebalancing as we move stock from our previous distributor to our new partners across the 18 transition markets. Destocking continued during the quarter, but a reduced pace, and we expect this dynamic to ease further, supporting sequential improvement in the second half of the year. Turning to pricing. The environment remains highly competitive with continued pressure across categories as peers compete for share in a slowing market. Our strategic price positioning remains unchanged. We are using targeted tactical promotional activity and short-term pricing adjustments to remain competitive while protecting long-term brand equity and value perception. At the same time, we continue to invest behind our brands at one of the highest rates in the industry, being increasingly selective about where we deploy those resources to protect our core. Looking ahead, we remain focused on disciplined execution, and we expect our performance to improve as the transition moves behind us. While the industry environment remains challenging, the steps we're taking today are strengthening our commercial foundation and positioning the business for sustainable long-term growth. I will now turn the call over to Olga Limon to discuss the Mexico and Latin America results.
Olga Montano : Thank you, Mauricio, and good morning, everyone. Turning to Mexico. The spirits industry remained under pressure during the quarter with a slowdown, particularly in value as the environment turned increasingly promotional. Against this backdrop, our portfolio continued to outperform the broader market. As in prior quarters, the clearest view of our performance excludes the B:oost brand, which materially impacted volume during the quarter. Excluding B:oost, our volumes grew 5.5%, driven by our tequila portfolio, while net sales value increased 4.9%. On a reported basis, net sales value grew 1.8%. According to Nielsen data through May, we continue to outperform the industry across every key metric. In total spirits, our volume declined by 0.5% compared to a 3.9% contraction for the industry, while value declined 4.4% versus 7.1% for the market. Within tequila, our volumes grew 1.2%, while the category fell 1.2% and value declined 3.5% against a 6.9% decline for the category. Once more, these results reinforce our leadership position in Mexico. During the quarter, our product mix shifted toward the value segment as our lower-end brands offer consumers an attractive value proposition. At the same time, our premium portfolio continued to grow, a clear sign that demand for our higher-end brands remains healthy. Additionally, the exit of B:oost, which carried a dilutive price per case improved our overall mix and increased our average price per case. From a pricing standpoint, the market remains highly competitive with hard discounting from some competitors. We have held firm as price leaders in an aggressive price promotional environment. In Latin America, trends across the region remain more encouraging as we continue to focus on protecting value and further premiumizing the portfolio. Overall, our resilience performance and the strength of our premium portfolio reinforce our confidence in sustaining our leadership across Mexico and the broader region. I will now turn the call over to Shane Hoyne. Thank you.
Shane Hoyne : Thank you, Olga, and good morning, everyone. The first half of 2026 delivered continued strong performance across EMEA and APAC, once again reflecting the underlying strength of our brands in what remains a relatively flat market environment. Asia continued to deliver positive growth over the first half, while performance in EMEA was supported by strong category dynamics and healthy underlying demand for our brands. In the Middle East, we saw some impact from the instability in the region we discussed last quarter, although this was not meaningful at an overall regional level. It remains to be seen how this will evolve over the remainder of the year. For the first half of the year, shipments grew by 9% versus the same period last year, while depletions remained broadly flat. As we have noted before, shipments and depletions can move at different paces, and these dynamics tend to balance out over the course of the year. Inventory levels across the region remain healthy following the volatility observed through 2025. At the same time, pricing conditions remain highly competitive. We remain disciplined on our pricing, a dynamic we expect to remain a consistent theme across markets as we move through 2026. From a category perspective, our tequila portfolio continues to gain momentum across the region, supported by growing consumer interest and a deeper understanding of the category. Tequila continues to share -- to take share from other spirits, and we expect this trend to continue through the second half. Overall, the region continues to perform resiliently in a complex and evolving environment and category fundamentals remain supportive of long-term growth. As we look to the second half, we remain confident in tequila's ability to drive both volume and value expansion across the region, backed by the strength of our portfolio and our established route-to-market strategy. I will now hand you over to Rodrigo, who will take you through the financial results.
Rodrigo de la Maza Serrato : Thank you, and good morning, everyone. I will now walk you through the financial results for the second quarter of 2026. The company reported a 13.9% decrease in consolidated net sales, reaching MXN 9.9 billion. This decline mainly reflects foreign currency effects from the appreciation of the Mexican peso against the U.S. dollar. On a constant currency basis, net sales decreased 5.8%, representing a sequential improvement compared to the first quarter of the year as the distributor transition in the U.S. and inventory rightsizing continues to advance. Gross profit decreased 21.2% in the second quarter to MXN 5 billion, while gross margin decreased from 55.1% in the second quarter of 2025 to 50.4%. The decrease in gross margin was primarily driven by unfavorable foreign currency effects and adverse geographic mix. This was partially offset by stable input costs, consistent with last quarter. On a constant currency basis, the gross margin would have been 53%. A&P expenses declined 18.9% in the quarter. On a year-to-date basis, A&P stood at 19.5% of net sales within our full year guidance range of 19% to 21% Distribution expenses decreased 13.4%, remaining stable at 4.5% of net sales. SG&A expenses decreased 9.2% or 1.8% on a constant currency basis, reflecting continued discipline on overhead and strong control across the organization. Operating income decreased 27.3% with operating margin at 17.4%. Adjusting for FX, operating margin would have been 19.8%. Operating results for the quarter include other income of MXN 206 million compared to MXN 130 million in the second quarter of 2025, primarily driven by releasing U.S. accruals related to U.S. distribution agreements. EBITDA for the second quarter declined 23.4%, with EBITDA margin contracting 260 basis points to 20.9%. Adjusting for FX, the EBITDA margin would have been 23.1%, broadly stable versus the prior year, underscoring the resilience of our underlying profitability despite a complex industry environment. The net financial results recorded a gain of MXN 198 million compared to a gain of MXN 364 million in the second quarter of 2025. This variation was primarily driven by a lower foreign exchange gain, partially offset by lower interest expense, reflecting our reduced debt levels. Second quarter consolidated net income decreased 29.6% to MXN 1.4 billion, with the net margin at 14.3% compared to 17.5% in the second quarter of 2025. Earnings per share were MXN 0.39 compared to MXN 0.56 for the second quarter of 2025. Adjusting for FX, net income would have declined 12.6%. As of June 30, 2026, cash and cash equivalents totaled MXN 9.6 billion, an increase of MXN 2.7 billion compared to the prior year, while total debt was MXN 18.5 billion, a decrease of MXN 3.3 billion. In the first 6 months of 2026, the company generated MXN 4.2 billion in net cash from operating activities, reflecting solid profitability and continued working capital discipline. Our balance sheet remains very strong with adjusted net leverage of 1.1x within our target range of 1x to 1.5x. During the quarter, we continued to execute our capital allocation strategy, including the payment of our annual dividend in May. This reflects our ongoing commitment to returning capital to shareholders while preserving financial strength and flexibility. Finally, we are confirming our 2026 guidance of low single-digit consolidated net sales value decline on a constant currency basis. I will now turn the call back to the operator for the questions-and-answer session. Thank you.
Operator : Our first question comes from the line of Ricardo Alves.
Ricardo Alves : I have a couple of questions in the U.S. When we look at the tequila category specifically, July numbers, they seem to have performed better for the industry relative to what we saw in the last 6 months or so. So my first question is, do you see a normalization of demand or maybe inventories as it pertains to tequila in the U.S.? Or is it too early to tell? That's the first question, more on the industry, the level of inventories that you see. And then the second one, when we were looking at the same data, but at your specific brands, Jose Cuervo Especial, both gold and silver and 1800, we noted that consumer takeaway is still down in the mid-single digit. My sense is that, that could be reflective of a very fierce competition in mainstream and premium categories. I wanted to just explore a little bit more of that. Do you see other players still aggressive in frontline discounts, lowering prices, effectively lowering prices? So those are the 2 questions, one more industry and then the other one more on the competition side.
Mauricio Herrera : Thank you, Ricardo. It's Mauricio, and thank you for both your questions. In terms of your first one around is tequila normalizing, I would say it's too early to tell because if you go back to May, May was maybe one of the worst months we saw in the industry, then June got a little bit better. So we still see volatility in the market. Tequila is still remains performing better than the industry in general terms. But I wouldn't dare to say at this point that it's already stabilizing. I think we need to wait still another quarter at least to see how the trend continues to evolve. But because as I said, what we've seen throughout the year is some months that are really bad then gets a little bit better. So still a lot of volatility in the marketplace. Regarding your second question, I think it's a combination of things, the way I would answer it. One is, yes, there is very aggressive pricing happening in that price tier with many of the competitors moving price down. But when it comes to our brands, as I mentioned during the call, it's important to separate the performance of transition markets versus non-transition markets because when I actually look at our performance overall in markets where we're not transitioning, our depletions are declining 3.7% when tequila is down around 4.7%. So we see -- when I isolate the transition, our stable markets are performing way better. The other indication for us, when you look at NABCA, because it's a good indicator for us because I think more reflective of true consumer pool. As a company, we have -- in tequila, we have won share for 6 consecutive months where we have actually taken some tactical price adjustments to stay competitive against these other competitors that are being extremely aggressive in price. And we have seen that result actually in their performance slowdown and our share improving. So I think that's why it's a little bit multifaceted where you have the impact of transition markets versus non where we're doing better. We're taking some promotional actions and some tactical strategic pricing to remain competitive. But what we don't want to do is change the overall strategic positioning of our brands versus them because at the end, as the category stabilizes, we want to be in a strong position from a pricing and equity perspective. So I hope that provides you more insight, Ricardo.
Operator : Our next question comes from the line of Fernando Olvera.
Fernando Olvera Espinosa de los Monteros : My first question is related to volume overall. Maybe if you can comment if the soccer World Cup had any positive effect on volumes that help you mitigate consumption weakness? And if any, can you give us some color of the impact? And my second question is related to other income. Can you give us more details of the MXN 206 million registered at such line?
Mauricio Herrera : Fernando, I can speak for the U.S. when it comes to the World Cup. I think at this point, it's very difficult to say because you still saw in July a decline in the industry, more or less continuing the same trend. So we will have to see how July closes and as we move into August to really see if there was any significant improvement. It's hard to see right now that something dramatically happened. Maybe we did see some very short-term benefit in some of the on-trade accounts for people watching games, but nothing that I would say really provided a big uplift in the marketplace. So that's from a U.S. perspective.
Olga Montano : Fernando, as for Mexico, it's very similar. We have data up to May right now. But from what we've seen, we didn't really actually get a benefit from the World Cup. It was more beer that really got better consumption. Yes, like Mauricio said, some bars definitely went higher in tequila. But in general, I think the big winner was beer. So that's what I can say for my region.
Shane Hoyne : I just think from the rest of the world perspective, I would echo my colleagues, very difficult to measure any material impact and nothing that we've seen to date that would suggest there is a material impact.
Rodrigo de la Maza Serrato : Fernando, for your second question regarding other income benefits, this is actually related to contractual settlements with U.S. distributors from previous years. We had taken a conservative position before and basically reserve the contingent amount, which we're releasing now because the risk has been eliminated. So that's similar to the benefits we reported previous year. This basically almost concludes the settlement agreements. And that's the only thing related to this other income, Fernando.
Fernando Olvera Espinosa de los Monteros : Okay. Sorry, just a clarification. Is the last quarter that we are going to see this or...
Rodrigo de la Maza Serrato : Yes, pretty much. I mean there will be just a little remaining, but this is uncertain at this time, which is why we're not booking that.
Operator : Our next question comes from the line of Ben Theurer.
Benjamin Theurer : This is Ben Theurer from Barclays. So 2 very quick ones. I want to like to dig in a little bit more on the profitability side of the equation. So obviously, you've laid out the FX impact on gross profit. But I was wondering if we could also dial in a little deeper in those roughly 200 basis points of contraction that you saw on the gross margin in constant currency terms. I get it there was some regional mix, but I would also like to understand if there was anything in between the portfolios in the regions that drove that mix. And then my second question, literally going down the line here in a similar way. As we look into your A&P expense, obviously, it came down over 100 basis points versus a year ago. It's still year-to-date in a range that you're targeting for. But just given the market dynamics, is it fair to assume that you're probably going to end up at the lower end of your full year guidance? Or are you seeing any opportunities in the second half to actually increase spending as there are maybe things such as the tennis tournament and the U.S. Open, et cetera, upcoming. So just to understand a little bit the cadence here.
Rodrigo de la Maza Serrato : Ben, thank you for the questions. Regarding your first question, the 200 basis points, most of that is actually related to geographical mix as prices and profitability are higher outside of Mexico. And so the U.S. mix and contribution to the overall Becle results is actually affecting that from a mix perspective. As you well mentioned, there is, to a lesser degree, some product unfavorable mix as well. As you heard from my colleagues on the commercial front, there is pricing and competitive pressure on the different markets. And while premium categories continue to grow and perform well, value categories are also accelerating and performing well. So that obviously has an unfavorable mix impact on a profitability level. But most of it is geographical mix. And in regards to A&P, A&P spend is being very cautiously managed given this environment. So year-to-date, we're 19.5%. We're well within the range, and we don't expect to significantly deviate from current results.
Operator : Our next question comes from the line of Froylan Mendez.
Fernando Froylan Mendez Solther : On the U.S., where is your U.S. inventory today versus the target or the ideal level? If you can give us some sort of weeks of supply or days on hand type of measure? And what is the specific time frame to get back to that target? And in that similar line, is competitor pricing, let's say, this aggression in the pricing mainly a function of this destocking and inventory clearing that you are doing and probably the industry is doing? Or is it more driven by a cost advantage that some of the peers might have that could persist?
Mauricio Herrera : Thank you, Froylan. Mauricio here. On the inventory side, we're pretty much at our target. So as we get into the second half of the year, I expect to see a more aligned depletions versus shipments number. So right now, we have really completed our destocking in the marketplace, we wanted to make sure that we use the first half to do that as we go into the next half and really focus on execution and making sure that we just hold the inventory levels at the level we're right now. So we shouldn't continue to see the discrepancies between shipments and depletions that we saw during the first half of the year. In terms of your second question on pricing, I think right now because the main driver of competitors being aggressive on pricing is mainly because of the contraction in the industry and everyone fighting for share. And some companies may be prioritizing volume over value, and that's driving a lot of the pricing. I would agree with you that there are some because of the low cost of agave, there may be more flexibility in the P&L of the industry in general to be as aggressive as pricing as it's happening within tequila. But I think that as far as the industry continues to see this contraction, these pricing actions will remain in the marketplace. And as I said, from our perspective, we are using revenue management levers in the promotional side mainly to be more tactical and respond and remain competitive without jeopardizing our brand positioning strategically for the long term. Because as the industry starts to normalize, we want to be placed in a position of strength and continue to build the brand for the long term.
Fernando Froylan Mendez Solther : If I can follow up on your first comment. You say that you are reaching, let's say, the target inventory levels. How do you describe that this level today compares to historical or maybe pre-pandemic levels? Is it a similar level than historical or it's a much lower level given the, let's say, reality of the industry today?
Mauricio Herrera : It's definitely lower levels, and we want to make sure that we're working with our distributor partners to optimize and responsibly manage working capital. So for sure, I would say that not only ours, but in general, the industry is in an effort to move inventory levels down, but ours is definitely lower than the pre-pandemic.
Operator : Our next question comes from the line of Antonio Hernandez.
Antonio Hernandez : This is Antonio Hernandez from Actinver. Well, you mentioned before that premium categories continue to perform well, value categories as well. So we can maybe say that there's a kind of a K-shaped economy or at least consumer trends. Are you seeing this across the world, i.e., Mexico, the U.S., rest of the world and so on? Or is this more specific to some regions? And how is Cuervo reacting to this?
Olga Montano : Antonio, this is true for Mexico. This is something that's happening in our portfolio. So I would say this is more happening to us, not necessarily in the industry. I would say that the performance is based more on brand perception from the consumer and not a general trend. That's what I would say.
Mauricio Herrera : In the U.S., you definitely see -- I mean, it's multifaceted, I would say, the dynamics that are happening. From a price bracket perspective, you see definitely a movement towards the not super premium, but premium space, premium and below. There's a lot of action happening there in terms of pricing, and there's definitely a movement towards that price point. That being said, as I mentioned during the call, from our perspective, we're protecting that through the actions we -- I already mentioned on competitive pricing. But we see brands like Gran Coramino on our side, which is a super premium brand, growing very significantly and winning important share in the marketplace with that brand being one of the fastest-growing brands in the industry. So I think that even though there's a general movement towards lower price points, there's still a selected brands that are well positioned and being preferred with the consumer that are still doing really well in higher price points.
Shane Hoyne : From a Rest of World perspective, it's nuanced, but we continue to see strong preference for premium brands, especially in tequila, and that is across EMEA and APAC. There is an overall category trend towards more well-known larger brands that offer slightly more value. But I think our portfolio is well balanced across all of that. So it's definitely while there is a category dynamic, I think our portfolio is quite resilient to it.
Operator : Our next question comes from the line of Alejandro Fuchs.
Alejandro Fuchs : Alejandro Fuchs from Itaú BBA. I have 2 brief ones, maybe more from a strategic perspective, less on the quarter. I wanted to see if maybe we can talk a little bit if you look at the company's health and the balance sheet and the cash flow generation that you are making despite some of the pressures on the spirits market, it's actually quite remarkable. So how do you see the balance between positioning the company maybe to acquire some brands maybe at interesting valuations and taking advantage of this maybe shakiness in the market of spirits globally relative to remaining conservative and disciplined towards the future. And then my second question would be, if we look at the next 10 years of the tequila market today, where do you see the biggest opportunities today, thinking more about the long term, a little bit less about the short-term pressure that we have in the market?
Juan Legorreta : Regarding acquiring brands, we're always analyzing if there are any opportunities. And of course, we are -- if we see something interesting, we will analyze it and see if it's available. And long term, well, tequila outside of Mexico, it's still a category that has a lot of room for growth. So we believe there's a huge opportunity internationally.
Operator : Our next question comes from the line of [ Kevin Zabala. ]
Unknown Analyst : This is Kevin from UBS. On Mexico performance, Mexico continued to outperform the broader industry with organic volumes up 5%. So I would like to -- if you could provide some color on what's driving the volume outperformance and whether the slightly negative revenue per liter performance reflects a category mix, channel mix or promotional activity? And further, how sustainable is the current rate of volume growth in the second half?
Olga Montano : Kevin. Well, in Mexico, as you know, and I've said before, the total industry volume is decreasing minus 4% year-to-date and minus 7% in value. So the reason that we are performing well is the strength of our brands and our diversified portfolio. As we go through the second half of the year, we believe that we are in line with our budget guidance, but we are still in a very tough competitive environment with promotional activity. So what is driving this is the brand equity and our strategy to be able to navigate this very difficult environment. That's what I would say.
Operator : Thank you. That is all the time we have for questions. So that concludes today's call. You may now disconnect.