Good morning, and thank you for joining Bekla's second quarter unaudited financial results call. During this call, you may hear certain forward looking statements. These statements may relate to our future prospects, developments and business strategies and may be identified by our use of terms and phrases such as anticipate, believe, could, estimate, expect, intend and similar terms and phrases and may include references to assumptions. Forward looking statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions regarding our business, the economy, and other future conditions. Because forward looking statements relate to the future by their nature, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict.
Our actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Before we begin, we would like to remind you that the figures discussed on this call were prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS, and published in the Mexican Stock Exchange. The information for the 2025 is preliminary and is provided with understanding that once financial statements are available, updated information will be shared in the appropriate electronic formats. At this time, we would like to remind participants that your lines will be in listen only mode until the question and answer session. Now I will pass the call on to Declet's CEO, Mr. Juan Domingo Beckman.
Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today as we discuss Beckle's second quarter twenty twenty five results. The global spirits landscape remained challenging throughout the first half of the year despite a more cautious consumer and volatile competitive landscape. The resilience of our core categories, particular premium tequila reinforces our confidence in the fundamental strength of our segment and our portfolio. Encouraging early signs of recovery in key markets alongside sustained demand for high quality authentic brands support a more constructive outlook ahead. During the quarter, we delivered EBITDA margin expansion and healthy cash generation.
While gross margin growth was modest, this reflected the impact of regional mix shifts within a changing market context. Overall, our financials performance puts us in a strong position to continue advancing our strategic agenda. As we move through the second half of the year, our focus remains on accelerating The U. S. Region, capitalizing positive trends seen in Mexico and rebalancing shipments and depletions in rest of the world, while protecting brand equity and building towards sustainable profitable growth.
Before I close, I'd like to extend our welcome to Mauricio Bergara, our new Managing Director for Proximo U. S. And Canada. I'll now hand it over to him to share more detail on performance in that region.
Thank you, Juan, and good morning, everyone. It is an honor to address you today as a newly appointed Managing Director for Proximo in The U. S. And Canada. Please note that the figures discussed in today's remarks are presented on a constant currency basis.
In the second quarter, operations in The United States and Canada faced a complex and competitive environment characterized by softer consumer demand in several categories and heightened pricing pressures. Despite these challenges, our core portfolio remained resilient with tequila performing particularly well as small formats gaining momentum. Net sales value declined 9.9% compared to the same period in 2024, primarily due to a 7.1% decrease in shipments. This reflects continued softness in our RTD category and increased pricing pressures across key categories. Shipments were further impacted by external retail limitations in Canada affecting select U.
S.-made products. However, a favorable product mix led by tequila and whiskey helped partially offset the impact on net sales value. Depletions decreased by 9.3%, remaining relatively aligned with shipments following our efforts to optimize inventory levels. In terms of consumer takeaway, our performance remained stable across key segments. According to the last thirteen week Nielsen data ending in June 28, our spirits portfolio, excluding prepared cocktails, declined by 0.9%, outperforming the total industry, which saw a 2.5% decrease.
Our total tequila business grew by 0.6%, further confirming its importance as a key driver for growth. We're also closely monitoring external factors, including inflation and trade policy. To date, no significant material regulatory changes have occurred and trade between The US and Mexico remains stable, under the current frameworks. Looking ahead, we expect near term volatility to persist in The US and Canada as the industry adjusts to ongoing challenges. That said, we remain focused on driving performance in our core categories, advancing premiumization, and responding decisively to evolving consumer behavior.
We are confident in our strategies, our brands, and our and our team's ability to adapt to market dynamics while strengthening our leadership and delivering sustainable long term growth. I will now turn the call over Olga Limon to discuss the results for Mexico and Latin America.
Thank you, Mauricio, and good morning, everyone. In a challenging industry landscape, Mexico posted solid second quarter results. Even with constrained consumer demand, we outperformed our key categories and continued to improve our leadership position. Net sales value grew 4.8% in the quarter, primarily driven by an increase in volume. Growth was strongest among our more accessible brands, while premium offerings also performed well, underscoring the overall resilience of our portfolio.
Shipments increased 7.1% year over year with depletions up 7.3%, reflecting improved alignment and healthier inventory levels across both retail and wholesale channels. After several quarters impacted by destocking, these results reflect a positive shift positioning us well as we enter the second half of the year. That said, market conditions remain challenging with inflation, economic uncertainty and insecurity impacting consumer behavior. We are closely monitoring the environment and remain focused on disciplined pricing and consistent execution to preserve our long term brand equity and market leadership. According to NISCAN data through May, tequila remains the most resilient category within the spirits industry.
We outperformed the total spirits market and the tequila segment in both volume and value, resulting in additional market share gains and further consolidation of our market leadership. In Latin America, we continue to see encouraging signs of stabilization. Shipments increased modestly, while net sales grew at a high double digit pace, driven by a more favorable regional mix, normalized inventory levels and FX tailwinds. Still, we remain cautious given ongoing macroeconomic and political volatility across the region. As we enter the second half of the year, healthier trends across key sales channels are encouraging and may support future growth, although we're staying alert to broader market risks.
Our priority are clear: to protect market share, adapt evolving consumer trends and market conditions. I will now turn the call over to Shane Hoyne, Managing Director of the EMEA and APAC region. Thank you.
Thank you, Olga, and good morning, everyone. During the first half of twenty twenty five, EMN and APAC faced a complex and uneven trading environments shaped by ongoing macroeconomic pressures and continued inventory adjustments. That said, consumer demand for premium spirits remained resilient. Depletions across EMEA and APAC grew 2% year over year, while shipments declined minus 13% mainly due to timing differences in order placements and deliveries in Asia as well as ongoing efforts by third party distributors to reduce inventory and optimize working capital management. On a reported basis, net sales value increased by 1.1% compared to the prior year.
This is is this was primarily attributed to currency translation effects, partially offset by lower shipments, some destocking and increased promotional and marketing activity, particularly in EMEA. In EMEA, consumer sentiment remained cautious amid persistent cost of living pressures, which weighed on demand in the entree channel. The region also experienced aggressive pricing and elevated promotional activity. Despite these challenges, depletions for the first half of the year increased 1.5%. APAC faced a challenging first half reflecting ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty and temporary disruptions in selected markets.
That said shipments began to recover in Asian markets by late June, and we continue to see this improvement trend to continue. In the second half of the year, year to date depletions in Asia increased by 14% driven by strong growth in premium categories and resilient underlying consumption across key markets. As we enter the second half of the year, we remain focused on disciplined execution and agile decision making in the face of evolving consumer and macroeconomic dynamics. We anticipate sustained growth in Asia, gradual stabilization in Europe and emerging opportunities in Africa and The Middle East. Backed by the strength of our portfolio and premiumization strategy, we believe we are well positioned to drive sustainable growth across the region.
I'll pass you over now to Rodrigo, who will take you through the financial results.
Thank you, Shane, and good morning, everyone. I will now walk you through the financial results for the second quarter of twenty twenty five. Despite a complex industry environment, the company reported a 2.8% increase in consolidated net sales, reaching COP 11,500,000,000.0. This growth was primarily driven by favorable foreign exchange effects and continued progress on our premiumization strategy. This marks the sixth consecutive quarter year over year gross margin expansion.
We continued to benefit from lower agave related input costs, the gradual sell through of older higher cost inventory and ongoing cost efficiencies stemming from improvements in strategic sourcing and manufacturing operations. Foreign exchange tailwinds also contributed positively. That said, gross margin expansion this quarter was partially offset by unfavorable regional mix with Mexico posting the strongest performance. Below the gross profit line, EBITDA for the quarter grew 16.7% reaching MXN2.7 billion. EBITDA margin expanded by two seventy basis points to 23.4.
A and P expenses declined year over year, underscoring our strategic prioritization and disciplined resource allocation amid moderate demand. Meanwhile, distribution and SG and A expenses increased as a percentage of sales, primarily due to their U. S. Dollar denominated nature and related FX impacts. However, in constant currency, these costs remained broadly in line with prior year.
The financing result recorded favorable swing of MXN 1,700,000,000.0 in the second quarter of twenty twenty five. The appreciation of the Mexican peso during the quarter generated a non cash foreign exchange gain tied to our net U. S. Dollar cash position. Consequently, net income grew at a triple digit rate year over year, reaching COP 2,000,000,000.
From a cash flow perspective, the company generated COP 1,700,000,000.0 in net cash from operating activities, primarily driven by strong profits and continued progress in inventory rightsizing. Our cash balance declined relative to the end of the first quarter, reflecting two deliberate capital allocation decisions. First, we brought forward our annual dividend payment from August to May and increased the payout ratio. Second, we chose to retire $153,000,000 in maturing senior notes using cash on hand rather than refinancing. These actions reflect our ongoing commitment to returning excess capital to shareholders while preserving financial strength and flexibility.
As a result, our lease adjusted net debt ratio improved to 1.7 times from 1.9 times in Q1, underscoring the strength of our balance sheet and positioning us well for sustained long term value creation. Overall, despite continuous industry headwinds, we reported solid financial results for the quarter. Net sales increased, gross and EBITDA margins expanded and our ROIC improved by 130 basis points versus the same period of the previous year. Looking ahead, we reaffirm our full year guidance. With that, I will now turn the call back to the operator for the Q and A session.
Thank you. We will now conduct the Q and A session. We remind you that all lines have been placed on mute. Our first question comes from the line of Ricardo Alves. Please state your company name and ask your question.
Hey, everyone. Thanks for the call. Thanks for the opportunity. As the operator said, Ricardo Alves speaking from Morgan Stanley. A couple of questions.
On the gross margin, the 80 bps expansion year over year, I think that you alluded to the fact that the expansion has slowed down. Could you break that down into in terms of how much of that was still driven by agave? And then on the flip side, how much of a headwind the stronger peso and the fact that Mexico operation being bigger this quarter, how much of a headwind those components were? That's the first part of the question. The second part, when we look into the second half, still on the gross margin, we are anticipating, a significant acceleration of margin expansion.
I wanted to see if you'd agree with that assessment given that there has been a lot of volatility in terms of key drivers for your margin, the Mexico peso of course, the Mexico operations rebounding faster than expected and at the same time lower pricing in The U. S. On And the flip side, you still have the benefits of agave. So when we look into the second half after what we saw, in the latest quarter, there's a lot of moving parts. Some of them are positive.
Some of them are potentially more negative for the margin. I just wanted to see how you are weighing everything together. So that's my first question. My second question, perhaps to Mauricio, on The U. S.
Side. We noticed the unit revenue in dollar terms down 4%. And at the same time, if I'm not mistaken, I think that your mix actually I would assume it improved. I know there's no breakdown between the the the different, countries, but I I would assume that given that RTD and nonalcoholic came down a lot, I would assume that the mix is actually positive. So I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the competition.
I know the competitive environment and stuff, but how are you positioning your own brands in that environment, particularly eighteen hundred and Jose Cuero Especial? So just an update on the competitive environment. I know that there are some local US based brands that are playing an aggressive game, but I'm more interested on how you are positioning your own brands. Again, congrats on the numbers, and I appreciate the opportunity, everybody. Thank you.
Of course, Ricardo. Thank you so much for the questions. First of all, just clarify relative to last quarter, 600 basis points gross margin expansion, it's important to mention that it's challenging to look at margins on a sequential basis as quarters have different dynamics and and, product mix and geographic mix usually changes. And and on top of that, last quarter, we were overlapping a a tougher, let's say, comparison. So we we had in the first quarter of twenty twenty four, we had a relatively lower margin, and that also drove part of the expansion.
Having said that, yes, I mean, we continue to benefit from lower agave input related costs on our gross margin. Importantly, not only price, but also sugar content has been, positive, and we expect it to remain positive in the balance of year. That's the first comment. Second, we do have continued, favorable, tailwinds from our product mix as a direct result of our premiumization strategy, which continues to perform well. And third, while we continue to benefit from from, the Mexican peso depreciation, in other words, FX benefits are reflected in our gross margin, This benefit was actually lower relative to the Q1.
So it is important to have that in mind. But in terms of impacts in addition to the FX, as it was mentioned before, we did face unfavorable geographic mix, this quarter in particular with lower margin region like Mexico outperforming The U. S. And the rest of the world. And finally, yes, we heightened by we had heightened promotional activity resulting in lower price per case, which actually did affect our gross margin, especially in The U.
S. And this is a result of the competitive pricing dynamics happening in the marketplace, which I'm sure Mauricio will touch on the second question. And to your second point, yes, there are many balancing acts that we are facing having to face, to manage profitability. At this point, I would say, most of these these variables continue to be you know, some with some level of uncertainty, but we do expect continued solid margin expansion, going forward in the year. So we should we should be we should be in a similar situation versus what you're seeing in in q two.
So with that, Ricardo, I will pass the microphone to Mauricio for the second question.
Thank you, Ricardo, for your for your question. As you said, we're we're facing very aggressive competitive pricing in the category in The United States. The average pricing of total tequila in the market is down almost 9%. What we're doing is we're taking very measured and strategic promotional, actions to remain competitive and and protect our position in the market. But, however, our objective is not to reposition the pricing of our brands because what we're trying to do is stay very committed to the position and where they stand versus our competition to protect equity for the long term.
So we will continue to take just to remain competitive through that promotional activity, but our our real strategy is to remain protecting that brand equity as as the market stabilizes into the future.
Gentlemen, I appreciate the time. Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Our next question comes from the line of Froylan Mendez. Please state your company name and ask your question.
Hello, everyone. Fred Landes from JPMorgan. Thank you for taking my question. I was wondering if you could give some color on the regional evolution of the gross margin into probably the first half. We know that last year, we saw a very strong improvement in Mexico's gross margin.
It's causing a dilutive effect just on the mix. But if we were to look at first half evolution of gross margin in Mexico, in The U. S. And in the rest of the world, has that continued to be a positive trend on an individual regional basis? And just to and secondly, to clarify the comment on having a similar situation in the second half on gross margin as what we saw in second quarter.
Do what you mean is that we're going to see margin expansion around 80 to 100 basis points into the second half rather than the more than 300 basis points that we saw in the recent past? Thank you so much.
Yes. Thank you for the questions. Yes. Gross margin on a region by region basis continues to improve based on the drivers that I explained earlier. So definitely, you know, we do have, higher NSV per case on on in The US and rest of the world relative to Mexico.
So, most of the downside, when we refer to unfavorable geographical mix is driven by the fact that Mexico played a more important role on the mix in this particular quarter. Having said that, we we don't we don't this is this is more of a short term, I would say, dynamic. We we don't expect, this to continue. In other words, we if you as we're assuming going back to the to the normal mix. And in the in in addition to that, as you know, you know, international markets provide also the benefit of the FX translation, which we expect to continue to benefit from in the balance of year.
So and based on my previous comment, just to mention, you know, this this all these variables will continue to play out on our gross margin outlook for the balance of year. But most importantly, long term we continue to expect more than gross margin only, EBITDA margin expansion following our premiumization strategy, which continues to have a positive impact on our results. We do continue to foresee lower agave low agave input costs going forward. We pursue as well operating efficiencies across the value chain and we're making cautious and thoughtful decisions in terms of capital allocation throughout the P and L. So and of course, as we expect volumes to perform better going forward, we would be benefiting from increasing volume leverage in our margins.
So there's no reason why we think we should think that this dynamic would change
going forward.
Thank you, Rodrigo. If I have one follow-up more on Mexico, could you just try to explain what was the positive calendar effect into the volumes into this quarter? So if the calendar effect hadn't been there, how much would the normalized volume had been? Or what was the impact of the positive calendar effect in Mexico? Or could you repeat the question, please?
There was a positive calendar impact on Mexico volumes this quarter. Can you help us quantify how much was it? Just to understand how much of this was just the the timing of Semenasanta and everything.
Yeah. This is just a phasing effect. It really didn't make a a difference in the result. So what I think I think the important thing is we're an important player in the industry that is driving growth, And we have in place strategies that are making this happen. Our challenge is to make sustainability to have sustainability in this volatile environment.
Perfect. Thank you, Olga.
Next question comes from the line of Renata Cabral. Please state your company name and ask your question.
Morning, everyone. Thank you so much for taking my question. Renata Cabral here from Citi. Thanks, Juan, Rodrigo, for the opportunity. So my first question is actually a follow-up regarding volumes in Mexico.
So for us, it was an ambassador or highlight here to see this volume. My question is, can you provide some color for us to understand what were, the main drivers here? It it has to do with promotions or, inventory levels Anything you can share, it will be really helpful for us to understand the outlook for the second half of the year. My second question is more straightforward.
It's related to advertising market promotions, expenditures. You have the guidance, and we know that it's not 50%, 50% that you need to spend in first half of the year related to the second half of the year. So my question is precisely to understand if this the number should be within the guidance? Or maybe this year, you decide to spend a little bit less, just just to have an idea of this line, please. So thank you so much.
Hi, Renata. As as for Mexico, like I've said, we we are an important player that's driving growth within the industry, and our strategies are making this happen. We have not made any additional pricing movements. We have had some promotionals on a per brand basis. And as you have seen and reflected on our results, the overall impact was modest and average price per case declined just 2.2%.
So we have also have more alignment in terms of shipments and depletions and also destocking. So we're entering a better in a better position for the second half. So yes, that's what I can tell you.
Renata. Regarding A and P, we continue to we are in Q2, and we continue to expect to be within the guidance that we provided at the beginning of the
year. Okay?
Okay. Super clear. Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Next question comes from the line of Antonio Hernandez. Please state your company name and ask your question.
This is Antonio Hernandez from MacKimber. Just a quick one. Regarding, other tequilas, I mean, this was a category that was able to outperform from a volume perspective, the only one with positive performance. How was the pricing strategy or maybe sales mix playing a role here? And how was competition there as well?
In in any region in particular, Antonio, or just general consolidated?
Well, general consolidated. And if you have any highlights from a regional perspective, that will be great as well. Thanks.
Yes. We don't disclose too much regarding brands, Antonio. But what we can say within other tequilas is that you continue to see our premiumization strategy play out. If you focus on the other two categories like Family Jose Cuervo, Family eighteen hundred, those are a little bit more disclosed. But within other tequilas, we continue to see higher end tequilas outperform lower end.
And that's driven by smaller format presentations in The U. S, driving higher growth in Reposados, for example, and that's what we continue to see within our markets.
Okay. And from a pricing perspective, should we expect something similar to what you just commented, I mean, throughout the call in terms of the overall, expectations in terms of pricing strategy for the rest of the year? Same for other tequilas?
Yeah. I would say that in The US, we will the expectation is to continue to see a very competitive environment, and what we will continue to be doing is take very measured promotional activity just to to protect our our position in the marketplace whilst not repositioning the the where we play with our price to protect long long long term brand equity. So so that that is what we have been doing in the first half of the year that will continue to be our focus for the second half.
Perfect. Thanks. Have a nice day.
Next question comes from the line of Fernando Olvera. Please state your company name and ask your question.
Oh, can you hear me there?
Perfect.
Great. Thanks for taking my questions. My first question is related to the gain registered at other income of MXN 130,000,000 this year, if you can give us some color to what is related? My second question, just curious, can you give us some color about the disruption in Canada and how much of that affected volumes in The U. S. And Canada division? Thank you.
Of course. Thank you, Fernando. Regarding other income, it did increase in this quarter. It was primarily due to contractual settlements related to U. S.
Distribution agreements. This include, those linked to R and D's decision to exit the California market. And, it is expected that similar similar benefits will may continue in in the coming quarters. Okay?
Okay. For how long? I mean, only one more quarter? Or
We we we will have we will have similar benefits most likely in the in the next couple quarters.
Ah, okay. Excellent.
And, Fernando, it's Mauricio here. From a Canada perspective, it's very straightforward. The the liquor boards in Canada decided to remove all US made spirits from the shelves as a protest for The US tariffs. So that's that's really what's happening. And in terms of the impact on our side, even though Canada is a relatively small part of our of our region, it it did have a a meaningful impact, in RTDs impacting approximately one hundred thousand cases.
Great. Thank you.
The next question comes from the line of Felipe Uclos. Please state your company name and ask your question.
Thanks, operator, and good morning, everyone. Thanks thanks for this, Peso. A couple of questions on my end. Agave has Agave costs have been coming down quite a bit in the spot market for for the better part of the last three years. But, obviously, that takes time to flow through your income statement and through your inventory.
So just wondering if if you could give us some detail about how that process is going, how far along the process you guys, think you are. And also on inventories, but perhaps this question for the rest of the world, just wondering if you can discuss how far you think you are from a normalized inventory situation here, given the comments on the call. And then the last one on on RTDs and and navs, it it you know, they've been suffering in in the last few years, and I know you guys have been trying some new innovations to to try to make an offset on on the growth trajectory here. Just wondering if you can give us an update on on on the performance on innovations there. Thank you.
Thank you, Felipe. Well, I guess, as you know, we don't disclose too much, information regarding specifics on our agave situation. But, you know, as we've mentioned before, we do continue to benefit from from the low current low environment on agave prices. And, yes, there is there is, there are inventories which we have to go through. I would I would say, you know, for the most part, we we we are, on the final stages of doing of that, of benefiting from that.
But as I mentioned before, there's also improved economics, I guess, from from agave relative to sugar content, which which we also are benefiting from and expect to continue doing that in in in the balance of the year. And for that, I'll I'll pass it on to Shane to answer your your question on rest of the world inventories.
Hi, Felipe. It's Shane here. The issue on on inventories, it's really an EMEA regional issue as opposed to APAC. In APAC, our inventory management is quite is quite quite in line with where we needed to be. To answer your question specifically, we we we're we are starting to see normalization, now, and we expect through quarter three for that to kind of fully materialize.
And from my side, Felipe, on the on the RTD on the RTD side, the market continues to be extremely competitive and very, very fragmented. So with that in mind, what we're doing is exploring new formats, sizes, different flavors, just making sure that our offerings truly align with the evolving consumer needs in that space that is is really dynamic and evolving significantly. But we believe that with our brand equity and and innovation that really aligns to consumer needs, we should be in a good position to to scale those new offerings.
Great. Thanks a lot for the caller, gentlemen.
Next question comes from the line of Ulises Argote. This
is Ulises Argote from Santander. I had a follow-up related to A and P. So I wanted to see if you guys could share a bit more color on what kind of investments you are cutting back on and how do you reconcile this lower A and P? I mean, obviously, it's it's still in line with the lower part of the guidance, but lower overall versus where usually see this figure. So how do you reconcile this with kind of the volume growth outlook and expectations you guys have?
Obviously, this is a relevant component of this business. So just wanted
to get your thoughts there. Thank you.
Thank you, Lucius. And as we've mentioned before, I mean, we are within guidance, and we continue to expect to be within guidance for for the balance of year and the full year. So I I don't know if there's much more we can we can we can mention, except for the fact that, obviously, we're being very disciplined in how we allocate resources, you know, given the current market environment.
Alright. No. So, so that part, then probably for the full year, then maybe the expectation is for us to be or to continue being here near this, low part of the, of the guidance range. Is that, something reasonable to to assume?
I think we should assume what we what I just said, leases. So we will stay within the range, and and there's obviously some phasing and calendarization, but we we're gonna be within the guidance that we have provided for the for the full year.
All right. Perfect. Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Our next question comes from the line of Ben Theurer. Please state your company name and ask your question.
This is Rahi on for, Ben from Barclays. Just a question for The US. With more price price pressure that we've been seeing, do you see any overstocking at home for the consumer? If you have any data points you can point to, Is there any potential for overstocking in Mexico as we also see price was also pressured there? Thanks so much.
So I thank you for your question, Ben. I think for for The US, the pricing environment, as I mentioned, will continue to be very, very aggressive and competitive. And we're also experiencing lower disposable income from the consumer perspective, so I don't I don't foresee any overstocking at home from the consumer because of that because of that reason.
Hi. As for Mexico, we also don't see an overstocking issue. I don't know if you have any more questions or you wanna go deeper on that, but that's basically my answer. There's no no problem with that.
No. That sounds good. Thanks so much.
Our next question comes from the line of Alejandro Fuchs. Please state your company name and ask your question.
Yes. Thank you for thank you, operator. Alejandro Fuchs from Itau BBA. Thank you for the space for questions. I wanted to make two, if I may.
The first one is on the portfolio of products. Right? We're seeing a very healthy balance sheet, as you commented, 1.7 times net debt to EBITDA. Leverage continues to come down. And and we know that there are, you know, assets for sale, you know, in the market.
So may maybe how are you thinking about potential inorganic opportunities to maybe continue to strengthen some of the portfolio? Maybe you can tell us a little bit how you feel with the current portfolio. I think that'll be very helpful. Thank you.
Yeah. We always look at opportunities, and we still have a lot of runway in our actual portfolio. I think we're in the right categories now with the very good portfolio of tequila And also our our our whiskey brands are are are we believe have a lot of potential still, but we are always looking for premium brands that have potential to be of scale.
Thank you. And then if I may real quick a follow-up regarding ready to drink. You know, we we have seen volumes coming down in in for the last couple of years. Right? Do do you see a world in in where you think that the company leaves a little bit that category and and maybe could use to focus as you were pointed out on on on tequila and whiskey and some of the other parts of the full portfolio and see some, let's say, portfolio optimization, or is this something that you feel strongly about for the medium term?
So me maybe we if you can elaborate how do you see the way to drink just category as a whole going forward? Thank you.
No. We we will continue to play in that space. It's a it's an evolving space. So as I mentioned, our our view actually is how do we align better our portfolio to the evolving consumer needs and strengthen our our presence and our our offering there.
And bear in mind, Alejandro, just quickly, ready to drink continues to be the fastest growing category out there. And also, it serves as a recruitment, for our other tequila brands. So it's very interesting for us to play within that category. So we're probably gonna stay within that and try to stabilize the declines.
Super clear. Thank you very much.
Next question comes from the line of Ricardo Alves. Please state your company name and ask your question.
Hello, everybody. Thanks for the follow-up. Ricardo always Morgan Stanley again. Just a final follow-up on my end to to Mauricio. So into The US, but focusing on volumes because I think it's very clear that the competitive environment remains difficult and you're doing what you have to do to face that.
But when you're thinking about volumes specifically for the next couple of quarters, it seems that the inventories are more adequate. The comps for next the next couple of quarters are also easier. But I guess that on the flip side, we have this discussion. I don't remember who just mentioned that the R and D potential disruption in California. So that could be a headwind into the third quarter and fourth.
So when you put all of that together, how are you thinking about volumes? What are the mitigating measures you're taking to avoid potential distribution disruption in California and so forth? Can you just expand a little bit more in what you're doing at a micro level so that we can think about volumes specifically for the second quarter sorry, second half? Thanks again for the follow-up.
Yeah. Thank you, Ricardo. In the case of California, we we have in place a working group that is working very closely with the leadership and the whole team in breakthrough beverage to ensure that that transition runs in a very smooth way. We don't and what we're trying to do is minimize minimize any any meaningful impact into our business in in California. Beyond California, we, as you've seen, we have been outperforming the the spirits market.
So we will continue to make sure that we continue strengthening our our presence in tequila, which is the category that we expect continue to be outperforming the rest of spirits and and making sure that we're not only protecting, we're continuing to strive for for share gains in that aspect as the category continues to face challenges.
Very clear. Thank you so much.
We have not received any further questions at this point. So that concludes today's call. You may now disconnect.