Brewer Molson Coors has posted a 7.7% decline in reported revenue in the fourth quarter of its financial year, largely driven by on-trade restrictions in Europe and Canada.
Revenue was down 8.3% on a constant currency basis, the group said.
In its largest market, the US, net sales were up 1.9% on a brand volume basis, which 'partially offset' the Europe and Canada performance.
The group said that despite the revenue decline, it is making 'strong progress' against its revitalisation plan, which aims to drive long-term revenue and underlying EBITDA growth.
'Weather The Storm'
"The revitalisation plan we announced in October 2019 positioned our company well to weather the storms of 2020," commented Molson Coors president and chief executive officer Gavin Hattersley. "We built on the strength of our iconic core and in the second half of 2020, we achieved a record high portion of our U.S. portfolio in above premium products.
"We expanded beyond the beer aisle and we set the stage to build our emerging growth division into a $1 billion revenue business by 2023. We invested in our capabilities while supporting our people and our communities."
For the full year, Molson Coors posted a 8.7% decrease in revenue, to $9.65 billion. Sales on a constant currency basis were down 8.7%.
In a statement, the business said that it was hopeful that its board of directors would be in a position to reinstate a dividend in the second half of 2021.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
