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Canada: Molson Coors reports higher net sales

(beveragemanager.net) - Molson Coors Brewing Company reported 0.1 percent higher net sales and a 4.5 percent increase in underlying after-tax income for the first quarter 2012, driven by positive beer pricing and sales mix across the Company.

"Some of the quarter has been satisfactory but not spectacular," CEO Peter Swinburn said in an interview Tuesday after the company reported first-quarter results.

In the first quarter, the Company delivered $10 million of Resources for Growth Two (RFG2) cost reductions. Non-core brands account for about 10 per cent of the total business but generate strong profits because they attract less marketing support.

Molson Coors market share declined about one-half share point from a year ago on estimated industry growth of 1.3 per cent.

“Immediately following the first quarter, on April 3 th we announced our agreement to buy StarBev, the largest brewing business in Central Europe for €2.65 billion, believe that we have a clear path to completing the StarBev purchase by the end of the second quarter. Our focus, as always, is on value creation – and the acquisition of StarBev offers a unique opportunity to significantly enhance our growth profile by acquiring leading brands in attractive Central European markets, which we believe have promising growth potential for our top line and bottom line, ” said Swinburn.

USA segment`s underlying earnings grew nearly 17 per cent, while U.K. and Canada underlying pre-tax income declined from a year ago.

Net sales per hectoliter in Canada increased more than 5 percent in local currency, with half driven by continued positive pricing and the remainder due to the addition of NAB contract sales, partially offset by negative sales mix. (bmg)