MillerCoors Helped by Price Rises and Cost Savings

The combined U.S. operations of SABMiller and Molson Coors Brewing, with brands such as Miller Lite and Coors Light, said underlying net income in the April-June quarter was $436 million, with net sales up 4.3 percent at $2.2 billion.

8 August 2012 --- MillerCoors, the second-largest brewer in the United States, posted a 9.1 percent rise in second-quarter net income on Tuesday driven by price increases, a move towards more expensive beers and continued cost savings.

The combined U.S. operations of SABMiller and Molson Coors Brewing, with brands such as Miller Lite and Coors Light, said underlying net income in the April-June quarter was $436 million, with net sales up 4.3 percent at $2.2 billion.

“As our major summer marketing programs kicked off during the second quarter, we saw sequential improvement in retail sales on our premium light brands, highlighted by the strong growth of Coors Light,” said MillerCoors Chief Executive Tom Long.

“We also delivered double digit growth from Tenth and Blake as we scale brands like Blue Moon and Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy to meet changing consumer tastes. Positive brand mix shifts – combined with our continued attention to cost control and sharp revenue management – were key to delivering another profitable quarter.  We continue to make progress against our strategy of strengthening our core business, while evolving our portfolio to match consumer demand.”

Premium Light STRs were virtually unchanged in the second quarter versus prior year, an improvement compared to the first quarter 2012. Coors Light continued to post solid results, leading all major premium light brands with low-single digit growth for the quarter. Innovations such as the Coors Light Silver Bullet Aluminum Pint have contributed significant new volume to the brand.

In the early stages of the new “It’s Miller Time” campaign, Miller Lite declined low-single digits, while showing incremental trend improvement versus the first quarter. Twelve and 16 oz. can sales have increased in the low-single digits for the brand, attributable to the launch of the Punch Top Can innovation. Miller64 declined low-double digits as new branding, packaging and marketing programs rolled out nationally.

Tenth and Blake Beer Company continued to grow the MillerCoors craft and import portfolio by double digits in the quarter driven primarily by Leinenkugel’s. The Leinenkugel’s franchise is leading the craft segment in share growth, primarily via double-digit growth of Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy. Blue Moon also continued to show strong volume growth. Peroni Nastro Azzurro grew mid-single digits and continued to show strength.