Cuervo parent company Becle reports 58.6% rise in Q2 net profit

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexican distiller Becle, better known as the parent company of the popular Jose Cuervo tequila brand, posted a 58.6% jump in second-quarter net profit on increased demand for the spirit across all regions except the United States and Canada, the company said on Thursday.

Becle's net profit rose to 1.40 billion Mexican pesos ($69.5 million).

Revenue for the company, whose portfolio also includes alcoholic beverage brands such as Maestro Dobel, Hangar 1 and Kraken, climbed 18.9% from a year earlier to 11.33 billion pesos as prices increased throughout the distiller's portfolio.

"We continue to anticipate favorable trends across our portfolio and geographical regions as a result of the on-premise rebounds, off-premise resilience and our ongoing premiumization efforts," its management said in a statement.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter rose 43.7% to 2.34 billion pesos.

Analysts at Mexican brokerage Monex called the results positive in a note, with income and EBITDA exceeding their expectations.

If Becle keeps up its growth rate, "that would be a highlight for the year (in an environment of high inflation locally and in various regions)," Monex said.

Becle executives had warned last quarter they expected to see supply chain snags throughout the year, which they said Thursday were behind the volume drop in the United States and Canada.

($1 = 20.1353 pesos at end-June)

(Reporting by Kylie Madry; Editing by Christian Plumb)