(TDB) - Drinks giant Constellation’s profit margins have shrunk in the first quarter of 2018, but the Corona beer owner said its investment in cannabis business Canopy Growth is already paying off.

Constellation Brands’ first quarter sales increased 6% to US$2 billion, but the US group’s wine and spirits sales declined.

Net sales of spirits dropped 8% to $80.2 million, while wine fared better, falling 2%.

Higher shipping costs and an increased investment in marketing reduced operating margins in Constellation’s beer business — which include Corona and Modelo —  to 37.8%, despite unit sales rising by 11% year on year to just under $1.4 billion.

However, executives say the drinks firm’s investment in cannabis producer Canopy Growth is already bearing fruit.

Speaking on a conference call with reporters on Friday, chief financial officer David Eric Klein said that Constellation won roughly $258 million in “pre-tax unrealised gain from the change in fair value of the Canopy Growth investment and warrants,” bringing its net gain up to $700 million.