On Tuesday, Molson Coors will report its third-quarter and year-to-date results. Here, just-drinks takes a closer look at the company’s performance in the three months to the end of September:
- In July, Molson Coors announced its international head would move into the newly-created role of chief growth officer once the brewer completed its acquisition of SABMiller’s stake in the MillerCoors joint-venture
- At the beginning of August, CEO Mark Hunter said his company had made “substantial progress” on the pending acquisition of SAB’s MillerCoors holding (which completed after the quarter, at the start of October)
- Later in August, Molson Coors announced plans to build a new “technologically-advanced” brewery in Canada, following the sale of its Vancouver brewery earlier this year
- At the beginning of September, the brewer launched what it claims is the world’s first “beer button”– a device that allows Carling consumers in the UK to order the brand using a button in their fridge
- Also in the UK, the brewer outlined plans to withdraw its Rekorderlig Winter Cider variant, and replace it with Spiced Plum
- Later in September, Molson Coors said it plans to trial nearly all of its new UK products through a recently-launched on-premise premium unit as it absorbed modern marketing lessons from its craft acquisitions
Molson Coors’ H1 results highlights:
- Half-year net profits lifted 6.8% to US$331m
- Net sales in six months to end of June were down 3.7% to $1.64bn
- H1 operating profits were up 16% to $511m
- Q2 net profits dropped 24.8% to $172.3m
- Net sales in three months to end of June fell 2% to $986.2m
- Operating profits in Q2 dipped 14.8% to $267.8m