Mark Hunter, the ceo at Molson Coors Brewing Co., was feeling pretty good as he addressed financial analysts.
The company is No. 2 in the U.S., Canadian and UK markets, and its Coors Light and Miller Lite brands are No. 2 and 4 in the U.S. and Canada, while Carling is No. 1 in the UK.
Not only that, but Molson Coors shares are up 40% in the past year while Anheuser-Busch InBev shares have gained just 7.6%. Over the past three years, Molson Coors shares are up 103.67% vs. 38.13%.
Hunter didn’t say so directly, but he made clear he thinks Molson Coors is doing a better job of running its business. And, he said, the ABI-SABMiller deal will result in Molson Coors becoming the leading North American brewer when it acquires the 58% of MillerCoors it doesn’t already own.
Not only that, but “acquisition of Miller brands globally will present new opportunities, add scale and depth and open markets where we didn’t have a presence. Molson Coors will double in size,” he said, “becoming the No. 3 global brewer.”
When MillerCoors closes, Molson Coors will nearly double its sales, to $11.2 billion a year from $6.8 billion. And it will produce 94 million hectoliters, up from 58 million today.
The company is currently the No. 1 craft brewer in the U.S. with Tenth & Blake, own the No. 1 U.S. craft brand, Blue Moon, the No. 1 U.S. shandy, Leinenkugel’s, as well as the No. 1 cask ale in the UK, No. 1 craft brand in Ireland and two leading craft brands in Canada.
Gavin Hattersley, who recently became ceo of MillerCoors, said the unit’s goal is to have total volume growth by 2019, a result of a new mindset: “disciplined, decisive, accountable.” To do that, it wants to continue to grow the above-premium category, take share in American light lagers, and mitigate the decline of economy brands. “Economy drinkers are the most loyal,” he noted.
He believes it will be possible to grow both Coors Light and Miller Lite at the same time, and noted the two are already growing in some markets. “They are growing at the expense of Bud Light,” he said.
A similar transformation has been taking place in Canada, Stewart Glendinning, who runs the Canadian business, told the analysts. Craft volume is up 5.9% in Canada, import volume has gained 19% and cider volume advanced 16.7%.
We told you earlier about the Molson Canadian rooftop rink. What we didn’t know was that the facility got so much media exposure officials felt safe trimming their media schedule.