The Molson Coors Brewing Company achieved net sales of $2.3 billion in the first quarter of its 2019 fiscal year.
In the three months ending 31 March, the drinks company’s sales fell by 1.2% when compared to the same period in 2018.
However, this was mainly due to the impact of Foreign Exchange translation. At constant currency, the company’s sales increased by 0.6%.
The company said that its sales were also partially offset by higher net pricing in all segments.
“Our first quarter was solid, delivering on our commitment to improving top-line performance while also protecting the bottom line,” Mark Hunter, president and CEO, said.
“Even with industry volume pressure in North America and the shift of Easter from Q1 to Q2, revenue was up on a constant currency basis, driven by strong and disciplined net sales revenue per hectolitre growth across our business, ongoing portfolio premiumisation, and improving share trends in our largest market,” he explained.
Continuing Acceleration
Worldwide, Molson Coors’ brand volume of 18.2 million hectolitres decreased 4.7%, and its financial volume of 20.1 million hectolitres decreased 3.4% due to lower volume in all segments.
The company struggled in most regions, with a 0.7% net sales growth in the US being the only positive growth across its global businesses.
Canada’s first-quarter sales fell by 8%, in Europe they fell by 3% and its International businesses experienced a 16.7% decrease in sales.
“While only the first and smallest of our quarters, I am encouraged by the meaningful growth of net sales revenue in the US, led by the increasingly strong performance of Miller Lite, which held total beer industry share and an improved performance of Coors Light in our largest and most profitable market, as well as strong US retailer placements for our up-weighted innovation program,” Hunter continued.
“We also saw continuing strong net sales revenue growth in Europe, our second largest business unit. Across Molson Coors, I am pleased with the continuing acceleration of our portfolio premiumisation efforts alongside our intensified innovation program, and the growth in our underlying EBITDA, which, despite higher inflation, grew on a constant currency basis,” he concluded.
© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click sign-up to subscribe to Checkout.
