DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Molson Coors Brewing Co.'s (TAP) first-quarter earnings more
than doubled on increased prices and what the company called
"substantial" cost cuts.
Beer drinking has been a slow-growth industry in the Western
world for some time, with many established brands losing market
share to local upstarts. That has helped drive a consolidation push
in the industry, highlighted by Anheuser-Busch's acquisition last
year by InBev.
At the same time, Molson Coors and SABMiller PLC (SAB.JO)
combined their U.S. brewing operations to create a more formidable
presence against Anheuser. But the Budweiser brewer was still the
one with stronger first-quarter retail sales, including its sales
at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), according to Information Resources
Inc.
That MillerCoors combination earlier Tuesday said sales volume
fell 1.9% despite a 0.4% rise to retailers as its Miller Genuine
Draft brand reported its first volume growth in a decade.
Molson Coors' first-quarter earnings were $75.7 million, or 41
cents a share, compared with $34.3 million, or 19 cents a share, a
year earlier. The results included losses from discontinued
operations of 2 cents and 5 cents, respectively.
Net sales fell 59% to $559 million because of the MillerCoors
venture, as global volume fell 2.7%.
The mean estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters was
for earnings of 33 cents a share and revenue of $568 million.
Gross margin slid to 38.1% from 38.4% while overhead costs
slumped 58% on the venture.
In Canada, home to the Molson brand, pretax profit fell 9.4% as
volume was flat.
Molson Coors' shares closed Monday at $38.50 and haven't traded
premarket.
-By Kevin Kingsbury and Kerry E. Grace, Dow Jones Newswires;
201-938-2136; kevin.kingsbury@dowjones.com
