Molson Coors – a family affair?

"Both families want to be in the business for the long haul," Mr Swinburn was reported as saying. "The reality is that if you don’t run the business to the best of your ability and actually generate the sort of profits, cash and return to shareholders that shareholders demand, it doesn’t matter what company you are."

This came as a retort to analyst speculation that Molson was "a great take-out candidate," meaning: it could be sold.

Already SABMiller, Molson Coors’ partner in the MillerCoors joint venture, has been termed “a natural fit” as a buyer. The venture, formed in 2008, combined the U.S. operations of Molson Coors and SABMiller

However, Mr Swinburn played down the idea of a tie-up with SABMiller.

"That deal was so compelling for both SABMiller and ourselves, it was a deal we had to do, but it begins and ends there," Mr Swinburn said of the MillerCoors venture. "We obviously talk to each other about MillerCoors, but we don’t talk to each other about anything else."

Indeed, if SABMiller wanted to spend money, it might like to spend it more wisely. Molson Coors has been hit hard by the recession. Swinburn said he expects Molson Coors’ UK market share to stabilise or improve in 2010 after price increases and decisions to stop selling some brands affected Molson Coors’ market share adversely in 2009.

The company is holding market share, if not increasing it, in the U.S. and is adding market share in Canada, Mr Swinburn reported.

Molson Coors, in February 2010, posted a lower-than-expected fourth-quarter 2009 profit on weak sales volume across all markets and issued a lukewarm volume forecast for 2010.