Wine and spirits maker Constellation Brands Inc swung to a quarterly profit as efforts to stabilize its business continued to pay off, sending its shares up 10 percent.

Constellation's sales and margins have suffered as many consumers seek out lower-priced drinks in the economic downturn.

The company, which sold off some less-expensive brands, is closing some facilities, cutting jobs and consolidating distribution to cut costs and stay competitive.

The maker of Robert Mondavi wine, Svedka vodka and Black Velvet Canadian Whisky posted a profit of $99.7 million, or 45 cents a share, in the second quarter, compared with a net loss of $22.7 million, or 11 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding business realignment costs and other one-time items, the company earned 54 cents a share.

Net sales fell 8 percent to $876.8 million, pressured by currency-rate changes and the sale of brands such as Barton and Chi-Chi's premixed cocktails.

Analysts were looking for earnings, before special items, of 41 cents a share, on revenue of $835.8 million, according to Reuters Estimates.

Constellation also reaffirmed its full-year profit view. In July, the company said it still expected to earn $1.60 to $1.70 per share in fiscal 2010, which ends in February, compared with $1.60 in fiscal 2009.

The company's shares, which have risen more than 27 percent in the last six months, touched a high of $16.70 in trading before the bell. They had closed at $15.15 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Shradhha Sharma in Bangalore; Editing by Vinu Pilakkott)