A Whiskey tasting station is seen at the Jack Daniel's distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee May 10, 2011. Excluding items, Brown-Forman earned 48 cents per share, compared with a profit estimate of 53 cents per share, as per Refinitiv data. A 90-basis-point expansion in gross margin in the quarter was driven by a 250-basis-point benefit from higher pricing as well as a let up in supply-chain costs, Brown-Forman said on a post-earnings call. Its quarterly net sales rose 3%, to $1.04 billion, compared with analysts' average estimate of $1.05 billion. Still, Brown-Forman reaffirmed its annual target of organic net sales growth between 5% and 7% and said it expects demand trends to normalize after two years of strong growth.

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Persons: Jack Daniel's, Martinne Geller, Brown, Forman, BFb.N, Jack, Juveria Tabassum, Pooja Desai Organizations: REUTERS, Reserve, U.S, Thomson Locations: Lynchburg , Tennessee, United States, U.S