May 8 (Reuters) - Monster Beverage MNST.O reported a surprise fall in first-quarter revenue on Thursday, signaling consumers in the U.S. pared back spending on pricey energy drinks amid economic uncertainty.
Colder weather in January and high inflation in February led to softer consumer spending, impacting sales during the quarter.
The company also attributed the decline in net sales to changes in ordering patterns of bottlers and distributors in the U.S. and Europe and foreign currency headwinds.
Monster Beverage hedges against the rise in aluminum prices, but said it would recognize tariffs imposed on imports of the material due to higher U.S. Midwest duty-paid aluminum premium, which climbed more than 70% in the three months through March.
The company said one of its flavor and concentrates subsidiary was planning on opening a facility in Brazil, expected to be operational next year, to help mitigate the impact from aluminum levies.
The tariffs, however, were not expected to have a material impact on the company's overall results, executives said on a post-earnings call.
Beverages giant Coca-Cola KO.N warned last month that macroeconomic uncertainty due to tariffs could hurt consumer sentiment, despite topping quarterly results estimates.
Net sales for Monster energy drinks segment, which houses the namesake brand and Reign Total Body Fuel products, fell 0.8% to $1.72 billion.
Its total net revenue fell 2.3% to $1.85 billion during the quarter ended March 31, compared with analysts' estimate of a 4.3% rise to $1.98 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Persistent weakness in its alcohol brands segment also weighed on sales during the quarter, the Corona, California-based company said.
Monster has increased prices over the last year, helping its gross profit as a percentage of net sales rise to 56.5% from 54.1% a year earlier.
Excluding items, it earned 45 cents per share, compared with the estimate of 46 cents.
Monster's shares were down 2.2% in extended trading.
(Reporting by Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
((Juveria.Tabassum@thomsonreuters.com;))