Molson Coors Beverage has raised its annual sales and profit forecasts, boosted by strong demand for its core brands Miller Lite and Coors Light.
For the Americas segment, Molson Coors' net sales rose 10.7% in the second quarter as it shipped more premium beers.
'The increase in US volume was impacted by a shift in consumer purchasing behaviour largely within the premium segment,' the company said.
The brewer joins rivals Anheuser-Busch InBev, Brown-Forman and Constellation Brands that have recently posted upbeat results, supported by higher pricing and steady demand for alcoholic beverages.
Gavin Hattersley, president and chief executive officer stated, "Our second quarter results represent tremendous growth across our global business, as well as our portfolio. [...] These results are a measure of the past three years and a long-term strategy that has made our brands, our supply chain and our breweries demonstrably stronger.
"Collectively, the investments we have made over the past three years have made us more nimble, more prepared and singularly focused on strengthening our business, attracting consumers, meeting demand and sustaining our results."
'Market Share Shift'
A conservative backlash in the US against AB InBev's Bud Light over a social media promotion with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney has weighed on the brand's sales, causing the beer to lose its top spot in the domestic market since May.
"We believe the market share shift away from Bud Light and towards Miller Lite and Coors Light will be sticky and likely very profitable," Roth analyst Bill Kirk said.
Molson Coors now expects full-year 2023 sales to grow in high single-digit percentage, on a constant currency basis. The company had previously forecast a low single-digit percentage rise.
Annual underlying income before income taxes is expected to increase between 23% and 26%, on a constant-currency basis, compared with a low single-digit percentage increase forecast earlier.
However, Molson Coors posted second-quarter sales of $3.27 billion (€3 billion), missing estimates of $3.29 billion, according to Refinitiv data.
The Chicago-based company's shares were down 3.1% at $67.60 in premarket trading.
Article by Reuters, additional reporting by ESM.
