Constellation Brands Cuts Foreign Exchange, Commodities Exposure
Constellation Brands Cuts Foreign Exchange, Commodities Exposure
May 18, 2011 6
(Dow Jones)--Constellation Brands Inc. (STZ) is trimming down and adjusting its beverage-bottling prices as it tries to cut exposure to volatile currency exchange rates and rising commodity prices.
Among the biggest moves the winemaker has made to shield itself from rate swings came earlier this year when the company sold an 80% stake in its struggling Australian and U.K. operations to CHAMP Private Equity.
"One of the reasons we shed the international operation is forex," Chief Financial Officer Bob Ryder said in an interview ahead of the company's institutional investor meeting in New York. The $230 million deal pushed Constellation down to second spot in global wine production.
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