MONTREAL -- Molson Coors Brewing Co. says weaker sales in Canada contributed to a decrease in overall adjusted profits for the third quarter, just before it closed a blockbuster acquisition that made it the world's third-largest beer maker.
The Montreal- and Denver-based brewery says its underlying profits decreased 14.3 per cent to US$222.7 million in the three months ended Sept. 30, from US$259.9 million a year ago.
That translated into US$1.03 per diluted share, compared to US$1.40 per share a year earlier.
Net income for the three months ended Sept. 30 was US$202.5 million, up from US$16.6 million a year earlier, when it recorded US$275 million of impairment charges for some European brands.
Overall revenues fell 6.9 per cent to US$947.6 million on lower beer volumes including its flagship Coors Light brand.
In Canada, underlying pretax profits decreased 14.8 per cent to US$91.6 million on lower volumes and higher costs.
Shortly after the quarter ended, Molson Coors (NYSE:TAP) closed its US$12-billion acquisition of Miller brands and SABMiller's 58 per cent stake in MillerCoors on Oct. 11. The MillerCoors joint venture was formed in 2008.
The transaction stemmed from the US$107-billion takeover of SABMiller by Anheuser-Busch InBev, which owns long-time Molson rival Labatt, giving AB InBev about 31 per cent of the global beer market.
Molson Coors expects that its increased size will reduce ingredient and administrative costs and a more integrated North American network will make its supply chain more efficient.
