Molson Coors reported its third-quarter earnings today, which were highlighted by a 1.8 percent increase in worldwide net sales, to $2.9 billion.
Year-to-date, Molson Coors — whose brands include Coors Light, Coors, and Miller Lite, among others — has recorded $8.4 billion in net sales, down 0.8 percent from 2017 levels.
Due to declines in the U.S. and Canada, Molson Coors’ worldwide brand volumes in Q3 dipped 1 percent, to 25.3 million hectoliters.
In the U.S., Molson Coors’ Q3 depletions declined 3.3 percent, which the company attributed to sluggish premium light sales.
“In the U.S., brand volumes or STRs were below industry volumes,” Molson Coors CEO Mark Hunter said, via a press release. “As we have indicated, improving our volume performance in the U.S. is a priority and the first step is to improve our share performance through Coors Light and accelerated premiumization of the portfolio.”
However, sales-to-wholesalers increased 1.1 percent, which the company attributed to wholesaler inventories growing “to support further ordering system implementations at our breweries.”
“These increased distributor inventory levels at the end of the third quarter are expected to remain through the end of the year as we prepare for future implementations at our remaining breweries, which are currently expected to occur in 2019,” the company added.
For the three months ending September 30, Molson Coors’ net sales in the U.S. increased 2.3 percent, to more than $1.9 billion, as the company’s revenue per hectoliter grew 1.3 percent.
Through the first nine months of 2018, Molson Coors has posted net sales of more than $5.6 billion in the U.S.