Coors rated triple "B"

Standard & Poor’s announced that it assigned its triple-"B"-plus rating to brewer Coors Brewing Company’s US$ 750 million senior notes due 2012. Proceeds of the offering will be used to refinance an existing $750 million senior unsecured bridge facility. The notes are guaranteed by parent, Adolph Coors Co. (Coors) and by certain subsidiaries of Coors. At the same time, Standard & Poor’s affirmed its triple-"B"-plus corporate credit rating for Coors.
The outlook is negative. About US$1.67 billion of total debt was outstanding at Coors on 31 December 2001, pro forma for Coors’ acquisition of
the UK-based Carling business that closed in February 2002.
The rating outlook is stable. The ratings reflect Coors position as the third-largest brewer in the U.S.S..

Rock Bottom is top-selling brewpub chain

According to the Institute for Brewing Studies’ annual survey, The Rock Bottom chain of restaurant-breweries sold more than any other brewpub group in 2001. Rock Bottom Restaurants, Inc. - including Brew Moons, Walnut Brewery and three ChopHouse and Breweries - sold 39,342 barrels of beer (46,000 hl), an increase of 13 per cent over 2000. Rock Bottom increased its number of brewpubs to 31 nationwide after acquiring 4 Brew Moon Restaurants in the Northeast, one Hops! Bistro and Brewery in Scottsdale, Arizona and Cougan’s Brewery & Grill in Glendale, Arizona. Among the larger chains, Rock Bottom brewery-restaurants also sell the most beer per brewpub unit, with each Rock Bottom averaging approximately 1,269 barrels of beer sales in 2001. "Tabelle"

Coors 1st quarter net rises on UK acquisition

Adolph Coors Co. announced a first quarter profit rise of 33 per cent from last year, buoyed by its recent acquisition of the Carling business of Bass Brewers in the UK from Interbrew. Coors, the No 3 brewer in the U.S., reported quarterly net income of US$27.2 million, or 75 cents a diluted share, compared with US$18.3 million, or 49 cents a diluted share, in the year-earlier period. Included in the results are earnings after 2 February 2002 for Coors Brewers Ltd., the entity formed through its acquisition of the Carling brand and other British beers from Interbrew.
Coors completed its US$1.7 billion acquisition of Carling and other assets from the then world No 2 brewer Interbrew on 4 February. The quarter’s results also included a US$2.9 million. Shares of Coors rose modestly..

A non-Busch...for now!

Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. ended a long family tradition when it named its first chief executive in 142 years who is neither an Anheuser nor a Busch. The producer of top-selling beers such as Budweiser and Bud Light appointed Patrick Stokes, 59, currently in charge of the company’s U.S. beer business, its largest operation, to become president and chief executive on 1 July 2002. He will succeed August Busch III, who will remain as chairman and who turns 65 in June. His son, August Busch IV, 38, who had also been tipped as his successor, will take over from Stokes as head of the US beer unit.
The company reported a 16 per cent rise in first-quarter profits, boosted by higher prices and sales of its new Bacardi Silver flavoured malt drink.
Domestic beer volume rose 1.4 percent to 24.

SAB buys Miller for $5.6 bn ...

... and becomes the world’s second largest brewer. So the full headline should have read. The long wait is over. What pundits have known for weeks, has finally been confirmed. At the end of May Miller’s parent company, cigarette-maker Philip Morris Cos. or Altrai as the company is called these days, agreed to sell its brewing operation for US$5.6 billion.
This is the first time, the self-professed emerging markets specialist SAB has bought into a First World market. While SAB has spent US$2 billion in the past two years on takeovers that have increased its sales by 20 per cent, the company’s expansion was in countries such as Poland, India, China and Honduras where beer consumption has been on the increase.5 times EV/EBITDA. In the end, SAB paid US$600 million more.0x.6 per cent....

Premium beer sales settle down but do not fall flat

Premium and superpremium beers will continue to thrive, although there is likely to be a levelling off of the growth in demand for them, particularly in developed markets. A new report, The International Market for Premium Beer, from beverage industry analysts Canadean shows that while the global beer market grew by an average of 2 per cent per annum between 1996 and 2000, premium beer sales rose by nearly 4 per cent and superpremium sales by 8 per cent. In line with this performance the report predicts that despite slowing down, both premium and superpremium brands will still do well, with the latter being less susceptible to downward pricing pressures as consumers automatically expect to pay more for them. This was split 10 per cent premium and 5 per cent superpremium..

All you have always wanted ...

... is to have a case of beer delivered to your doorstep with the label sporting a photograph of yours truly in her birthday suit. Well, it can be done. But there is a catch. You have to live in Ontario, Canada. And, sorry, you cannot have that photograph of her mooning everybody. Canada’s brewer Labatt will not accept any pictures which depict nudity, minors or motor vehicles. Labatt will personalise a case of 24 bottles of Labatt Blue or Labatt Blue Light with your favourite photograph of birthdays, weddings, graduations and stags and deliver it in Ontario within seven business days. The vanity label campaign has been running since March 2002 to great acclaim. However, the vanity brewskies won’t come cheap. A case will set you back C$45.95 plus postage and handling.75. beer..

Molson reports 82% increase in profits

Molson lnc.’s fourth-quarter profit rose 82 per cent because of lower costs, higher beer sales and a change in accounting practices. Net income in the period ended 31 March 2002 rose to C$33.6 million (US$21.5 million), or 27 cents a share, from the year-earlier C$18.5 million, or 15 cents. Sales rose 12 per cent to C$619 million from C$552 million.
Molson’s Canadian sales were up 1.5 per cent, slightly higher than the national industry average of 1.4 per cent. The brewer increased its share of the market by 0.1 percentage point to 45.3 per cent, following a 0.2 point gain in the third quarter. In the U.S., sales climbed 1.3 per cent..

When less is more

Last year, Brazil’s leading brewer Ambev saw beer sales go down but beer revenues go up. Although in volume it sold 0.4 per cent less beer in 2001, its net revenues rose 24.3 per cent to R$6.5 billion (US$2.77 billion). This result has to be credited to higher beer prices. According to A/C Nielsen, the brands Brahma, Skol and Antarctica had price increases between 14 per cent and 17 per cent last year. With a market share of more than 70 per cent, it is no problem for AmBev to lift beer prices above the rate of inflation - 7.3 per cent according to the São Paulo University Financial Institute IPC index. Beer represents more than 70 per cent of AmBev’s revenues. In 2001 beer venues were R$4.8 billion (US$2.04 billion). Its softdinks division improved results by 13.9 per cent..

Cost cutting 2

Molson reported its profit expectations for 2002 which it believes to grow 20 per cent before interest and taxes thanks to a programme of cost reductions at its Brazilian operations Kaiser. In March, Molson had paid US$765 million for Brazil’s second largest brewer Kaiser. Molson expects 27 per cent of the annual C$66 million gain to come from increased revenue, 22 per cent from procurement synergies, 20 per cent from a better use of capacity, 16 per cent from improved logistics and 15 per cent from workforce re-organisation. The project is to run over the next three years.