Molson Coors Drops on Lower Net, Volume

American brewer Molson Coors Brewing Company (TAP) reported Q3 net income fell slightly, as it was hit by higher costs and lower sales volume. Net income was $134.7 million, good for EPS of $0.74, versus net income of $135.8 million (EPS of $0.78) a year ago. Excluding one-time items, EPS would have been $0.95 cents a share, versus adjusted EPS of $0.73 a year ago. Revenue climbed 6.9% to $1.69 billion despite a 0.2% slip in sales volume to 11.2 million barrels. Consensus estimates were for adjusted EPS of $0.92 on sales of $1.64 billion. U.S. sales climbed 6.1%, with volume up 3.4%, while Canadian net sales rose 6%, despite volume declining 2.4%. Last month Molson Coors announced it was combining its U.S. operations with British counterpart SABMiller plc, a move Molson Coors CEO Leo Kiely called "a huge step forward in our quest to become a top-performing global brewer," (full summary). TAP shares were down 3.2% in late morning trading (as of 11:14 AM ET); they were up 48% YTD as of Monday's close. (full earnings call transcript later today).

Sources: Press release, Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, Reuters, AP
Commentary: What Is Brewing In The Beer Market? • Molson Coors, SABMiller To Combine U.S. Operations • Molson Coors Enjoys Strong Loonie On Tap
Stocks to watch: TAP, SBMRY.PK. Competitors: BUD
Earnings call transcript: Molson Coors Brewing Q2 2007 Earnings Call Transcript

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