Kane's Beverage News Daily

For the first time in over a decade, Molson Coors Brewing Co. is reporting it grew dollar share in the second quarter.

The company noted that it “grew dollar share in the U.S. in the 13-week quarter, for the first time in over a decade. Coors Light, Miller Lite and Coors Banquet combined to grow total industry share in the U.S. thanks to distinctive brand positionings and more effective marketing.

In each of the company’s major markets, Molson Coors said its core brands gained share of the beer industry. In Canada, Molson Canadian grew share of the total beer industry for the first time in eight years. In the U.K., Carling, the largest beer brand in the U.K., managed to further solidify its No. 1 position in the total market and national champion brands in Central and Eastern Europe grew share in the majority of markets.

Despite this positive achievement, the company reported that sales combined with cost inflation on materials, transportation and energy and higher marketing, general and administrative spending combined to create an underlying 22.7% loss in the second quarter.  Organic revenue in the period rose 2.2%.

Net sales per hectoliter on a brand volume basis in constant currency increased 7.1%, primarily due to positive net pricing and favorable brand and channel mix resulting from portfolio premiumization and fewer on-premise channel restrictions, the company said.

Molson Coors said it is changing the shape of its product portfolio, increasing its concentration in growth areas while continuing to offer strong core brands in all segments of the market. Net sales of the Company’s U.S. above premium portfolio is now higher than that of its U.S. economy portfolio.

That trend has been driven by the rapid growth of its hard seltzers, the strong launch of Simply Spiked Lemonade, and Blue Moon and Peroni’s continued rise coming out of the pandemic. The Company also maintained the strength of its economy portfolio, which has benefited from improved focus and efficiency following the SKU de-prioritization which started in the second quarter last year.

Gavin Hattersley, president/CEO, said: “After growing the top-line for the first time in a decade last year, we have now generated net sales growth for five straight quarters for the first time in over a decade on a constant currency basis. On an aggregate basis, we outpaced the industry in our three largest markets and continued to grow the top line globally in the quarter. We believe we have the portfolio to compete and win across all segments and a strong backstop in challenging economic times.”