Specialty beer clocks in double-digit growth
Molson Coors Brewing Co. said Tuesday its third-quarter net income climbed 69%, bolstered by Canadian sales that were included as part of the merged company.
The company said overall sales to retail outlets were flat as increases in Canada, Europe and the United States were offset by Brazilian losses.
In the U.S. market, third quarter sales volume decreased 0.3%. U.S. segment sales to retail increased 0.1 percent on a pro forma basis during the quarter, driven by low-single-digit percentage growth by Coors Light and a strong double-digit increase in Blue Moon, offset by declines in other brands, primarily the Coors brand and Aspen Edge.
“Our third-quarter financial results reflected encouraging volume and financial performance in Canada and the United States despite extensive competitive price discounting in some of our largest markets,” Leo Kiely, chairman and chief executive officer, told analysts during a conference call.
Net sales totaled $1.6 billion compared with $1.1 billion a year ago, while sales volume was 12.8 million barrels, up from 8.6 million barrels in previous quarter.
Kiely told analysts that the company has achieved $37 million in synergies since the merger closed, primarily in overhead and procurement costs. Executives had pledged $175 million worth of annual pretax cost synergies over the next three years as part of the merger.
