Dive Brief:
- Molson Coors Brewing Co. announced a 16% profit gain in fourth-quarter earnings, with net income at $98.7 million, or 46 cents per share, as compared to $84.8 million, or 39 cents a share, in the year-ago period, according to a company report.
- The beverage giant's net sales jumped to $2.29 billion from $844.4 million, and volume in hectoliters grew to 21.8 million from 7.8 million.
- The company's United States business, MillerCoors, saw a decline of 2.8% in domestic sales-to-retail volume for Q4 due to lower volume in the Below Premium and Premium Light segments. Domestic net revenue per hectoliter grew 0.9% for the quarter due to favorable net pricing.
Dive Insight:
Molson Coors has struggled in recent quarters due to waning consumer demand and declining sales volumes in the U.S., Canada and Europe. Still, the beverage maker has continued to add new products to its sizeable portfolio of more than 65 leading beer brands and promote premium beer categories.
"The biggest news for 2016 was completing our acquisition of the remaining 58 percent of MillerCoors and the Miller global brand portfolio for $12 billion, representing the largest transaction in the Company’s history, which made Molson Coors the third-largest global brewer. We also retained the rights to all of the brands that were in the MillerCoors portfolio in the U.S. and Puerto Rico," President and CEO Mark Hunter said in the earnings report.
Hunter also said that Molson Coors will be pushing hefty cost synergies over the next three years, and the completion of this transaction will drive "top-line growth, profit, cash generation, debt pay-down, and total shareholder returns in the years ahead."
These steps, led by the company's First Choice for Consumers and Customers agenda, will help the company accelerate performance beyond core developed markets.