Monster Beverage Results Top Estimate As Sales, Margin Climb; Stock Up 6%

(RTTNews) - Monster Beverage Corp (MNST), a distributor of energy drinks, on Thursday reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $125 million or $0.72 per share compared with $76 million or $0.44 per share last year.

Revenues for the quarter were up at $605.6 million compared with $540.8 million in the prior year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $0.59 per share on revenues of $584.5 million for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

"We are pleased to report another quarter and year of continuing sales growth, in both our domestic and international markets. In particular, we continued to achieve solid sales growth in Japan, which is becoming one of our largest international markets," said CEO Rodney Sacks.

The company's gross margin for the quarter rose to 54.8 percent from 51.2 percent last year, and operating expenses were lower by about $3 million.