Brewer Molson Coors has posted a 3.0% increase in net sales in the fourth quarter of its financial year, to $2.49 billion (€2.29 billion), despite seeing worldwide brand volumes decrease 1.0% in the period.
Revenue for the period was driven by higher net sales per hectolitre, however lower volumes in the US and a 'weakened performance' in Canada took some sheen off the performance.
Volumes of its global priority brands, however, increased 1.6%, while international volumes were also up.
For the full year, Molson Coors said that its net sales revenue was down 0.6% at constant currency levels, with worldwide brand volumes down 3.5%.
'Challenging Year'
"Full year 2019 was a challenging year for Molson Coors Beverage Company," commented president and chief executive officer Gavin Hattersley.
"However, despite significant headwinds and continued volume declines, we grew NSR/HL and improved our mix, delivered strong free cash flow and cost savings, reduced our debt, and started making progress toward premiumising and modernising our portfolio."
Hattersley added that the group "still has work to do", with efforts underway to get the business back to a position of consistent topline growth.
"The plan is designed to streamline the company, allow us to move faster, and free up resources to invest in our brands and capabilities," he said. "As promised in October, we’ve wasted no time in implementing the plan."
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine
