MGP Ingredients, the US distiller home to El Mayor Tequila and Penelope Bourbon, has cut its forecasts for sales and underlying earnings.

The changes came alongside a set of “preliminary” third-quarter results that included a 24% drop in sales.

CEO and president David Bratcher, who took the helm at the start of the year, pointed to two macro factors weighing on the business.

“We are disappointed with our third-quarter results and fourth quarter outlook,” Bratcher said. “Soft alcohol spirits category trends and elevated industry-wide whiskey inventories are putting greater-than-expected pressure on our brown-goods business with a larger impact on our smaller, craft customer base.”

Looking ahead, he added: “We expect these industry headwinds to persist at least through the rest of the year and will share details about our 2025 outlook with our fourth quarter 2024 earnings release.”

MGP Ingredients, which makes a range of whiskies and gins, sees its annual sales hitting between $695m and $705, down from its earlier forecast of between $742m to $756m.

It is now forecasting adjusted earnings per share of $5.55 to $5.65, down from $6.12 to $6.23.

The company is scheduled to report its third-quarter results on 31 October.

Bratcher said: “The American whiskey category has successfully navigated periods of temporary supply-demand imbalance over the years, and we are taking proactive steps to strengthen our brown goods business. Our pivot to becoming a branded spirits company continues to gain strength and I remain confident about our attractive long-term growth outlook.”

The MGP Ingredients CEO joined the company in 2021 when the group acquired Kentucky Bourbon distiller Luxco in a deal worth $475m. At Luxco, Bratcher served as the company’s president and in a number of financial and operational roles since his joining in 1998.

"US distiller MGP Ingredients issues profit warning" was originally created and published by Just Drinks, a GlobalData owned brand.

 

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