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MillerCoors 4Q profit rises on savings
Staff and agencies29 mins ago
"It‘s tough out there, and we saw the effect of ongoing economic pressure and unemployment on beer sales, especially in the fourth quarter," MillerCoors CEO Leo Kiely said Tuesday.
With unemployment around 10 percent, fewer people are going out to bars or restaurants for drinks. That has caused sales of the company‘s mainstays, Miller Light and Coors Light, to slip.
The company said earnings jumped 89 percent to $102.2 million for the period ended Dec. 31. Removing special items totaling $3.9 million, profit fell 22 percent to $106.1 million from $135.3 million.
MillerCoors, a joint venture made up of the U.S. businesses of Molson Coors Brewing Co. and SABMiller PLC, says its pricing held steady, with domestic net revenue per barrel up 2.3 percent.
In the fourth quarter alone, the company said the joint venture created $62 million savings from reduced overlap and $245 million for the year.
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