Mexico City, Feb. 26 - Top Mexican brewer Modelo, the maker of the popular Corona beer, posted a lower-than-expected 18 percent increase in fourth-quarter net profit on Monday, sending its shares down.
Modelo said its October-December net was 1.656 billion pesos ($153 million), as sales grew 9.9 percent to 13.876 billion pesos.
Total sales volume rose 9 percent in the fourth quarter, with domestic shipments up 4.4 percent and exports up 21.7 percent.
Modelo's domestic sales growth was lower than rival local brewer Femsa, which reported earlier Monday a 6.6 percent rise in national sales volume. But Modelo's export growth beat Femsa's 13.1 percent increase.
A prior Reuters survey had predicted that Modelo's fourth quarter net would be 1.935 billion pesos on sales of 14.153 billion.
Shares of Modelo, which is half-owned by U.S. brewing giant Anheuser Busch Cos. Inc., were down 1.65 percent to 59.01 pesos on Monday afternoon in a broad market decline.