Molson Coors has recorded a 9.7% decline in first-quarter net sales due to on-premise restrictions, yet continues to execute and “make progress” against its revitalisation plan.
The major beverage company posted net sales of $1.9 billion in the quarter, compared to $2.1 billion the same time last year; as a result of the impact of restrictions and closures in the on-premise channel, particularly in the UK and Canada.
Revenue decline was primarily driven by volume declines of 12% and a 9.1% drop in brand volume. This was partially offset by higher net pricing in North America and Europe, as well as the absence of last year’s estimated keg returns and reimbursements.
Europe was the worst hit area, as Covid-19 on-premise restrictions drove a 34.9% decrease, with financial volumes falling 22%.
Molson Coors’ North America business saw its net sales fall 5.5%, with financial volume decreasing 9.4% due to lower brand value. Brand volumes dropped 7.3% in the US and 10.8% in Canada; while Latin America’s brand volume grew 10.8%.
Gavin Hattersley, Molson Coors president and CEO, said: “In the first quarter of 2021, the company faced three major events that had material near-term impacts on the business: a system outage caused by a cybersecurity incident, an abnormal winter storm in Texas that forced utility companies to shut off power to the Fort Worth brewery for eleven days, and government restrictions that shut down the entire on-trade channel in the UK.
“Despite these three unprecedented and disruptive events that took place in the quarter, we continued to make progress against our revitalisation plan focused on driving long-term top-line growth.”
In the three months, the company says its iconic core of beers continued to gain strength – Coors Light in the US finished with the strongest category share performance since the first quarter of 2017; while Coors Banquet posted its best quarterly brand volume performance in over four years.
Molson Coors also claims to witness progress in growing its above premium portfolio; with Topo Chico Hard Seltzer jumping a 3.2% share in the US hard seltzer category in one week.
In addition to strengthening its core and premium brands, Molson Coors continues to advance towards its sustainability goals and announced that it will power its entire UK operations by renewable energy.
The company expects a mid-single-digit net sales increase on a constant currency basis for the full-year.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024