Brown-Forman一季报销售小幅下滑并维持谨慎全年指引，并购传闻未提供新增确定性

Brown-Forman ( BF.A ) ( BF.B ) issued a mixed first-quarter earnings report on Wednesday and cautious guidance. The sales decline was driven by the end of the Korbel relationship, as well as declines in used barrel sales and the tequila portfolio, partially offset by the growth of the ready-to-drink portfolio, led by New Mix. Growth in emerging markets only partially offset sales declines in developed international markets and the U.S. Gross margin expanded 40 basis points in FQ1, driven by lower costs, partially offset by the negative effect of foreign exchange. GAAP EPS of $0.38 was ahead of the consensus estimate by a penny and up 6% from last year's mark. CEO update: " "Our first quarter results were largely in line with our expectations and reinforce our confidence in the year ahead... Innovation remains an important growth driver. Momentum from New Mix, our Ready-to-Drink 3 portfolio, and Jack Daniel's Tennessee Blackberry helped offset pressures elsewhere in the business and demonstrates our ability to create new opportunities for growth even in a challenging operating environment." Looking ahead, Brown-Forman ( BF.A ) ( BF.B ) expects organic net sales to be approximately flat and organic operating income to decline in the 3% to 5% range. M&A is in the backdrop with Brown-Forman ( BF.A ) ( BF.B ). The latest word is that a combination with Pernod Ricard ( PDRDF ) ( PRNDY ) combination is not being revived. On August 28, Pernod Ricard CEO Alexandre Ricard publicly denied reports that the companies had restarted discussions, saying they had “agreed to disagree” after their April talks ended. However, Brown-Forman ( BF.A ) ( BF.B ) remains the subject of takeover interest from Sazerac, the privately held Louisville spirits company behind brands including Buffalo Trace. Sazerac made an unsolicited, all-cash proposal valued at roughly $15B, or $32 per share, in May. Sazerac then approached the controlling Class A shareholders with another offer in July, which was also rejected. Shares of Brown-Forman ( BF.A ) ( BF.B ) shed 1% premarket in early investor reaction to the report.