MillerCoors profits increase

SABMiller plc (SAB.) and Molson Coors Brewing have reported MillerCoors’ second quarter underlying net income rose 9.1% to $436.0 million versus prior year‚ driven by positive pricing‚ favourable brand mix and cost management.

Total net sales increased 4.3% to $2.224 billion. Domestic net revenue per barrel‚ excluding contract brewing and company-owned distributor sales‚ increased 3.6%‚ while total cost of goods sold (COGS) per barrel increased 2.5%.

MillerCoors domestic sales-to-retailers (STRs) were down 1.4% - a slight improvement versus the first quarter trend as the U.S. economic environment remained challenging and unemployment among the companý’s key consumer demographics worsened. Domestic sales-to- wholesalers (STWs) increased 0.3 percent.

“As our major summer marketing programs kicked off during the second quarter‚ we saw sequential improvement in retail sales on our premium light brands‚ highlighted by the strong growth of Coors Light‚” said MillerCoors Chief Executive Tom Long.

“We also delivered double digit growth from Tenth and Blake as we scale brands like Blue Moon and Leinenkugel´s Summer Shandy to meet changing consumer tastes. Positive brand mix shifts - combined with our continued attention to cost control and sharp revenue management - were key to delivering another profitable quarter. We continue to make progress against our strategy of strengthening our core business‚ while evolving our portfolio to match consumer demand‚” Long added.

In the second quarter‚ $32 million of cost savings were achieved versus prior year‚ primarily within the integrated supply chain. - I-Net Bridge