Constellation Brands, the alcoholic beverage manufacturer, announced quarterly earnings on Friday that managed to exceed expectations, mainly on the back of increased sales in its wine and vodka businesses that overshadowed the weak beer sales.

The full year earnings estimate shared by the company, however, managed to fall short of expectations.

A loss of $51 Million, or 23 cents a share, was reported by Constellation for the financial year's fourth quarter, which is a significant improvement when compared to the loss of $106.5 Million, or $1.88 a share, which was posted for the previous year.

Without including any costs of restructuring, the company managed to earn 27 cents a share, while the analysts had predicted earnings of 24 cents.

For the complete 2011 financial year, Constellation is expecting to earn about $1.53 to $1.68 per share.