Aug 28 (Reuters) - Jack Daniel's maker Brown-Forman ( BF/A )

beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter sales on

Thursday, on the back of steady demand for its ready-to-drink

beverages and spirits.

Shares of the company rose about 4% in premarket trading,

having also reiterated its annual forecast.

The popularity of the company's premium-priced whiskey

brands, Jack Daniel's, Old Forester and Woodford Reserve, among

people with more expendable income, especially in emerging

markets, helped the company offset soft demand for its spirits

in the U.S. market.

However, President Donald Trump's plans to double tariffs on

steel and aluminum imports to 50% could risk the margins of its

canned ready-to-drink products, alongside challenges from

Brown-Forman's ( BF/A ) reliance on Mexico, which made up 7% of its 2024

sales.

Brown-Forman ( BF/A ) said sales in international markets were hit in

the quarter due to the absence of American-made alcohol from

retail shelves in most Canadian provinces.

The company reiterated that the operating environment for

fiscal year 2026 will continue to be challenging, "with low

visibility due to macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility" and

face "headwinds from consumer uncertainty and the potential

impact from currently unknown tariffs".

Organic sales in the United States fell 2% in the quarter,

compared with a 4% drop a year earlier.

Overall, organic sales, which exclude the impact of

acquisitions and divestitures, was up 1%, compared with a 4%

decline a year earlier.

Net sales for the quarter ended July 31 fell 3% from a year

earlier to $924 million, compared with estimates of $909.2

million.

On an adjusted basis, the company earned 36 cents per share,

in line with analysts estimates according to data compiled by

LSEG.