Beam Inc will report results for its third quarter and year-to-date tomorrow (2 November). Here, just-drinks takes a look at the highs and lows for the company in the three months to the end of September and its performance in recent quarters.
- In late-July, the company announced the appointment of Gretchen Price, a former executive at Procter & Gamble, to its board. The move means that Beam now has eight directors, only one of which, CEO Matt Shattock, works full-time for Beam.
- On a conference call in August, CEO Shattock voiced his support for the ‘bounce-backability’ of the Tequila sector in the US. “The consumption levels (of Tequila in the US) are trending in the right direction and we have some exciting packaging re-launches coming in the back half of this year,” he said.
- Also in August, one industry analyst suggested that Beam would not be playing in the M&A arena any time soon, preferring instead to focus on brand building for the foreseeable future. A planned rise in A&P spend suggested “a strong commitment to building brands and innovation”, said Nomura.
- Despite Beam’s best attempts to make itself a tougher takeover target – particularly through recent M&A activity – another analyst warned that its valuation of the company “reflects … the company’s potential as an acquisition target”. Initiating its coverage of Beam in August, CLSA conceded that any move for Beam would now be a “very expensive deal”, noting that the firm’s purchases “suggest it is focused on consolidating rather than being consolidated”.
- In September, Beam played musical chairs with Brown-Forman in Japan, with the two swapping distributors. Suntory announced that it will begin distributing the Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark brands in the country from 4 January. The two brands, which had previously been handled by Asahi, join the rest of Beam’s brands at Suntory. Brown-Forman, meanwhile, will move its Japanese distribution in the other direction, from Suntory to Asahi, from 1 January.