Molson Coors profits down at start of 2019

Molson Coors’ profits dropped in the first three months of 2019, which the brewer put down to lower volumes  worldwide.

Net sales for the US business’s first quarter were $2.3 billion, down by 1.2% year on year, a downturn it said was driven by volume declines and “unfavourable foreign currency movements.”

Brand volumes were down in all of Molson Coors’ markets compared to the same period last year. US volumes fell by 3.8%.

However, it added that the fall was offset by a “favourable price mix”, something that both Carlsberg and Heineken have experienced in their own first quarter results this week. Sales rose 2.3% to the end of March.

Chief executive Mark Hunter said he was “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.”

Turning its attention to innovation and premiumisation, Molson Coors will be early out of the gates with its line of cannabis-infused drinks when cannabis edibles are made legal in Canada next year.

It has partnered with The Hydropothecary Corporation, a Canadian cannabis producer, launching a standalone startup business which will develop “non-alcoholic, cannabis-infused beverages for the Canadian market following legalisation,” according to a statement from the brewer. Molson Coors said it will launch its own cannabis drinks next year.