Jose Cuervo owner’s sales dip 13.9% in Q2
Mexican spirits company Becle reported a net sales drop during the second quarter of 2026, but slowing declines may be a sign of recovery.
Becle, which also owns Bushmills Irish Whiskey and 1800 Tequila, indicated a challenging second quarter with portfolio changes, a shrinking spirits sector, currency exchange rates, and distributor restructuring impact sales.
Net sales during the period for the quarter ending 30 June 2026 were down by 13.9% year-on-year – or 5.8% on a constant currency basis – to MXN9.865 billion (US$564.5m), a slower decline as compared to Q1.
Becle has attributed this drop in part to an ‘unfavourable geographical mix’ and the effect of the Mexican peso appreciating against the US dollar.
Gross profit for the period was down 21.2% year-on-year for a total of MXN4.973 billion (US$284.5m).
This marked an improvement on the firm’s Q1 results, which saw total sales dip by 23.1% to MXN7.4 billion (US$423.4 million).
Volumes also fell by 6.7% for a total of 6 million nine-litre cases in Q2.
The company pointed out that volumes were affected by the sale of the B:oost energy drink brand, which it unloaded last year to focus on its spirits portfolio.
Excluding B:oost from the calculations, volumes declined by 3.4% year-on-year.
Signs of normalisation in North America
In February 2026, Becle ended its partnership with Republic National Distribution Company (RNDC) in all US and Canadian markets except New Mexico and Georgia.
The latest report showed some signs of relief as the effects of changes to distribution networks made in Q1 appear to be receding.
A spokesperson for the company said: “During the second quarter, we remained focused on executing the strategic actions we outlined at the beginning of the year.
“The realignment of our US distribution is progressing as planned and is laying the foundation for stronger commercial execution and sustainable long-term growth. We remain committed to disciplined execution and creating sustainable value over time.”
Volumes in the US and Canada in Q2 were down by 8.7%, which Becle has characterised as ‘a marked sequential improvement, as the distributor transition progressed and inventory levels across the system continue to normalise’.
Figures from Mexico showed some promise, with volume decreasing by 7.8% year-on-year – reflecting the sale of the B:oost brand – but organic growth was up by 5.5%.
Net sales in the rest of the world decreased 14.6% organically, despite a volume growth of 3.5%.
Sales of Becle’s flagship Jose Cuervo Tequila represented 36% of total volumes for Q2 (2,172m nine-litre cases), with a decrease of 4.7% compared to the same period last year.
Other Tequilas, which include 1800 and Maestro Dobel, accounted for 25.5% of volume sales (1,538m nine-litre cases), up by 2.5% year-on-year.
Other spirits such as Bushmills Irish Whiskey and Kraken rum represented 16.8% of total volume and decreased by 6.8% compared to Q2 2025. Total volume for this division in the quarter was 1.012m nine-litre cases.
The results follow a difficult 2025 for Becle, which saw falling sales across the board to bring down full-year revenue by 2%.
RNDC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week. Becle’s spirits arm, Proximo Spirits, was among its biggest competitors.
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