World: Molson Coors beats fourth-quarter sales and profit estimates

Molson Coors beat fourth-quarter sales and profit estimates on February 13, helped by recovering demand for its beer brands including Coors Light and Miller Lite in the Americas, The Globe and Mail reported on February 13.

Shares of the company were up about 5 per cent in premarket trading.

The company saw sales recover in certain regions, as consumers continued to lean on their favorite beers after cutting back on expensive wines and spirits.

Net sales in its Americas segment were down 2.6 per cent in quarter ended December 31, after falling 11 per cent in the third quarter.

The improvement in sales in the Americas, a biggest revenue generating region, was driven by a consecutive rise in brand volumes in Canada.

Molson Coors, similar to its peer Constellation Brands , has been ramping up prices to counter lingering input costs such as raw materials.

That, along with Molson Coors’ efforts to lower its marketing expenses, helped it in posting underlying earnings per share of $1.30, compared with analysts’ estimates of $1.13 per share, as per data compiled by LSEG.

Its quarterly net sales came in at $2.74-billion, compared with analysts’ estimates of $2.70-billion.

The company expects annual net sales to be up in low single-digit, compared with analysts’ estimate of a 0.55 per cent decline.

The company said that its outlook does not reflect impacts of any trade policy activities or tariffs by the U.S. and potential retaliatory actions by other countries.

President Donald Trump’s import tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada and China have alcohol firms scrambling to take up measures to try and mitigate impact from the potential trade war.

Last month, Molson Coors bought an 8.5 per cent stake in a $88-million deal to get exclusive rights to market cocktail mixers and tonic water of British company Fevertree Drinks, as the beer maker looks to expand its non-alcoholic drinks.