Molson Coors Beverage Company Reports 2024 First Quarter Results

Delivers First Quarter Top-Line Growth of 10.7% with Growth Across Both Business Units

First Quarter Income Before Income Taxes Increases 160.5%, while Underlying Income Before Income Taxes Increases 68.8% on a Constant Currency Basis

Reaffirms 2024 Full Year Guidance for Top-Line and Bottom-Line Growth

GOLDEN, Colo. & MONTREAL–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Molson Coors Beverage Company («MCBC,» «Molson Coors» or «the Company») (NYSE: TAP, TAP.A; TSX: TPX.A, TPX.B) today reported results for the 2024 first quarter.

2024 FIRST QUARTER FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS¹

• Net sales increased 10.7% reported and 10.1% in constant currency.

• U.S. GAAP income before income taxes of $265.4 million increased 160.5% reported.

• Underlying (Non-GAAP) income before income taxes of $258.8 million improved 68.8% in constant currency.

• U.S. GAAP net income attributable to MCBC of $207.8 million, $0.97 per share on a diluted basis. Underlying (Non-GAAP) diluted earnings per share («EPS») of $0.95 per share increased 75.9%.

CEO AND CFO PERSPECTIVES

The first quarter of 2024 was a strong start to the year for Molson Coors. Net sales grew 10.1% on a constant currency basis, while underlying income before income taxes increased 68.8% on a constant currency basis. Results were driven by both business units and were strongly supported by elevated demand and favorable shipment timing in the U.S., our largest market.

The quarterly performance underscores great progress against our Acceleration Plan. The strength of our core power brands led to double-digit brand volume growth for Coors Light and Coors Banquet and high single-digit brand volume growth for Miller Lite in the U.S. and double-digit brand volume growth for Ožujsko in Croatia. Our above premium portfolio, including both beer and beyond beer, benefited from continued growth from winning innovations like Madri in the U.K. and Simply Spiked in the U.S. and Canada.

The trajectory of the business has been improving for several years, we believe positioning us well to benefit from the accelerated demand for our core brands and to sustain our share gains in the U.S. In partnership with our distributors, we have demonstrated our ability to supply the elevated level of demand, to secure more shelf space in retail and more tap handles in the on-premise, and to successfully execute targeted commercial plans that promote trial and retention of consumers, among others.

Our significant progress has been achieved amidst industry softness in the U.S. and Canada so far this year. We remain confident in our business and our strategy but incrementally more cautious on the outlook for the industry this year given early April industry performance. Given this, we believe it prudent to reiterate our guidance for top and bottom-line growth in 2024.

Gavin Hattersley, President and Chief Executive Officer Statement:

«After back-to-back years of delivering on our growth objectives, we continued that momentum in the first quarter of 2024 with double-digit top and bottom-line growth. We believe our strategy is working and we remain committed to achieving growth in 2024 and in the years to come.»

Tracey Joubert, Chief Financial Officer Statement:

«Strong America’s volume and favorable net pricing across both business units resulted in double-digit top-line growth while volume leverage and ongoing cost savings drove meaningful margin expansion in the quarter. We achieved this all while continuing to invest in our business and returning over $200 million to shareholders through a quarterly cash dividend and share repurchases.»

QUARTERLY CONSOLIDATED HIGHLIGHTS (VERSUS FIRST QUARTER 2023 RESULTS)

• Net sales: The following table highlights the drivers of the change in net sales for the three months ended March 31, 2024 compared to March 31, 2023 (in percentages):

Net sales increased 10.7% driven by higher financial volumes, favorable price and sales mix and favorable foreign currency impacts. Net sales increased 10.1% in constant currency.

Financial volumes increased 5.7%, primarily due to higher financial volumes in the Americas segment. Brand volumes increased 4.4% due to a 5.3% increase in the Americas as well as a 1.9% increase in EMEA&APAC.

Price and sales mix favorably impacted net sales by 4.4% primarily due to increased net pricing as well as favorable sales mix as a result of lower contract brewing volume in the Americas segment.

• Cost of goods sold («COGS»): increased 3.6% on a reported basis, primarily due to higher financial volumes and unfavorable foreign currency impacts, partially offset by lower COGS per hectoliter. COGS per hectoliter: improved 1.9% on a reported basis, including unfavorable foreign currency impacts of 0.6%, primarily due to favorable changes to our unrealized mark-to-market derivative positions of $52.6 million, the benefits of cost savings and volume leverage, partially offset by cost inflation related to materials and manufacturing expenses and unfavorable mix driven by lower contract brewing volumes in the Americas segment. Underlying COGS per hectoliter: increased 0.9% in constant currency, primarily due to cost inflation related to materials and manufacturing expenses and unfavorable mix driven by lower contract brewing volumes in the Americas segment, partially offset by cost savings and volume leverage.

• Marketing, general & administrative («MG&A»): increased 6.4% on a reported basis, primarily due to increased marketing investment to support our brands and innovations and unfavorable foreign currency impacts. Underlying MG&A: increased 6.4% in constant currency.

• U.S. GAAP income (loss) before income taxes: U.S. GAAP income before income taxes improved 160.5% on a reported basis, primarily due to higher financial volume, increased net pricing, the favorable changes to our unrealized mark-to-market derivative positions and favorable sales mix, partially offset by cost inflation related to materials and manufacturing expenses and higher MG&A expense.

• Underlying income (loss) before income taxes: Underlying income before income taxes improved 68.8% in constant currency, primarily due to higher financial volume, increased net pricing and favorable sales mix, partially offset by cost inflation related to materials and manufacturing expenses and higher MG&A expense.

QUARTERLY SEGMENT HIGHLIGHTS (VERSUS FIRST QUARTER 2023 RESULTS)

Americas Segment

The following table highlights the Americas segment results for the three months ended March 31, 2024 compared to March 31, 2023.

• Net sales: The following table highlights the drivers of the change in net sales for the three months ended March 31, 2024 compared to March 31, 2023 (in percentages):

Net sales increased 10.6% driven by higher financial volumes and favorable price and sales mix.

Financial volumes increased 7.5% primarily due to an increase in U.S. volumes driven by volume growth in our core brands, partially offset by lower contract brewing volume. The increase in U.S. volume was impacted by the continued shifts in consumer purchasing behavior largely within the premium beer segment. In addition, our U.S. volume sales to wholesalers exceeded our sales to retailers in the quarter by 750,000 hectoliters driven by the accelerated building of distributor inventory levels to support the peak summer selling season and to mitigate the impact of the Fort Worth brewery strike that commenced in mid-February 2024. Americas brand volumes increased 5.3%, including a 5.8% increase in the U.S. primarily due to growth in our core brands, with Coors Light and Coors Banquet each up double digits, and Miller Lite up high single digits. Canada brand volumes increased 3.6% driven by growth in our above premium brands.

Price and sales mix favorably impacted net sales by 3.1% primarily due to favorable impacts from both increased net pricing and sales mix. Favorable sales mix was due to lower contract brewing volume in the U.S.

• U.S. GAAP and Underlying income (loss) before income taxes: U.S. GAAP income before income taxes improved 37.4% on a reported basis and underlying income before income taxes improved 37.8% in constant currency, primarily due to higher financial volumes, increased net pricing, favorable sales mix and cost savings initiatives, partially offset by cost inflation related to materials and manufacturing expenses as well as higher MG&A expense. Higher MG&A spend was primarily due to increased marketing investment to support our brands and innovations.

EMEA&APAC Segment

The following table highlights the EMEA&APAC segment results for the three months ended March 31, 2024 compared to March 31, 2023.

• Net sales: The following table highlights the drivers of the change in net sales for the three months ended March 31, 2024 compared to March 31, 2023 (in percentages):

Net sales increased 10.9% driven by favorable price and sales mix as well as favorable foreign currency impacts, partially offset by slightly unfavorable financial volumes. Net sales increased 8.0% in constant currency.

Financial volumes slightly decreased 0.2% due to lower volumes in Western Europe impacted by challenges in the U.K. off-premise, partially offset by increased volumes in Central and Eastern Europe as inflation pressures ease for this market. Brand volumes increased 1.9% primarily due to increased volumes in Central and Eastern Europe as a result of easing inflationary pressures on the consumer, partially offset by lower volumes in Western Europe.

Price and sales mix favorably impacted net sales by 8.2% primarily due to increased net pricing to customers and favorable sales mix driven by premiumization.

• U.S. GAAP and Underlying income (loss) before income taxes: U.S. GAAP loss before income taxes improved 56.7% on a reported basis and underlying loss before income taxes improved 28.4% in constant currency, primarily due to increased net pricing to customers and favorable sales mix, partially offset by higher MG&A expense. Higher MG&A spend was primarily due to increased marketing to support our brands and innovations as well as cost inflation and unfavorable foreign currency impacts.

CASH FLOW AND LIQUIDITY HIGHLIGHTS

• U.S. GAAP cash from operations: net cash provided by operating activities was $25.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 which increased $22.0 million compared to the prior year, primarily due to higher net income and lower interest paid, partially offset by the unfavorable timing of working capital. The unfavorable timing of working capital was primarily driven by the timing of cash receipts on trade receivables as well as higher payments for prior year annual incentive compensation.

• Underlying free cash flow: cash used of $188.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 which represents an increase in cash used of $14.9 million from the prior year, was primarily due to higher capital expenditures driven by the timing of capital projects partially offset by higher net cash provided by operating activities.

• Debt: Total debt as of March 31, 2024 was $6,217.7 million and cash and cash equivalents totaled $458.4 million, resulting in net debt of $5,759.3 million and a net debt to underlying EBITDA ratio of 2.29x. As of March 31, 2023, our net debt to underlying EBITDA ratio was 2.98x.

• Dividends: On February 13, 2024, our Company’s Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.44 per share, a CAD equivalent equal to CAD 0.59 per share, paid on March 15, 2024, to eligible shareholders of record on March 1, 2024. On February 20, 2023, our Company’s Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.41 per share, a CAD equivalent equal to CAD 0.55 per share, paid on March 17, 2023, to eligible shareholders of record on March 3, 2023.

• Share Repurchase Program: For the three months ended March 31, 2024, we repurchased 1,760,115 shares under the share repurchase program, which was approved on September 29, 2023, through a combination of open market purchases and Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangements for an aggregate value of $111.2 million, including brokerage commissions and excise taxes. For the three months ended March 31, 2023, we repurchased 275,000 shares under the share repurchase program approved on February 17, 2022 for an aggregate value of $14.6 million, including brokerage commissions and excise taxes.

OTHER RESULTS

• The decrease in our first quarter U.S. GAAP effective tax rate and Underlying effective tax rate was primarily due to the impact of discrete tax. We recognized a $5.7 million GAAP discrete tax benefit in the three months ended March 31, 2024 compared to $7.5 million of GAAP discrete tax expense in the prior year.

2024 OUTLOOK

We continue to expect to achieve the following key financial targets for full year 2024:

• Net Sales: low single-digit increase versus 2023 on a constant currency basis.

• Underlying income (loss) before income taxes: mid single-digit increase compared to 2023 on a constant currency basis.

• Underlying diluted earnings per share: mid single-digit increase compared to 2023.

• Capital expenditures: $750 million incurred, plus or minus 5%.

• Underlying free cash flow: $1.2 billion, plus or minus 10%.

• Underlying depreciation and amortization: $700 million, plus or minus 5%.

• Consolidated net interest expense: $210 million, plus or minus 5%.

• Underlying effective tax rate: in the range of 23% to 25% for 2024.

These targets are based on the following key considerations:

• U.S. brand volume is expected to outpace domestic shipment volume during the remaining three quarters of 2024. For perspective, first quarter of 2024 U.S. volume sales to wholesalers exceeded volume sales to retailers by over 750,000 hectoliters, while in the first quarter of 2023, this difference was only approximately 100,000 hectoliters.

• The wind down of a contract brewing agreement leading up to the termination by the end of 2024 is expected to result in a reduction in Americas’ financial volume by 1.6 million hectoliters for the balance of the year.

• Underlying COGS per hectoliter are expected to be higher in full year 2024 as compared to full year 2023. This is due to expected continued, albeit moderating inflation, mix impacts from premiumization and a lower volume leverage impact as compared to full year 2023 and the first quarter of 2024.

• MG&A expense for full year 2024 is expected to be relatively flat to full year 2023.

NOTES

Unless otherwise indicated in this release, all $ amounts are in U.S. Dollars, and all quarterly comparative results are for the Company’s first quarter ended March 31, 2024 compared to the first quarter ended March 31, 2023. Some numbers may not sum due to rounding.

2024 FIRST QUARTER INVESTOR CONFERENCE CALL

Molson Coors Beverage Company will conduct an earnings conference call with financial analysts and investors at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time today to discuss the Company’s 2024 first quarter results. The live webcast will be accessible via our website, ir.molsoncoors.com. An online replay of the webcast will be available until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on August 5, 2024. The Company will post this release and related financial statements on its website today.

OVERVIEW OF MOLSON COORS BEVERAGE COMPANY

For more than two centuries, Molson Coors Beverage Company has been brewing beverages that unite people to celebrate all life’s moments. From our core power brands Coors Light, Miller Lite, Coors Banquet, Molson Canadian, Carling and Ožujsko to our above premium brands including Madri, Staropramen, Blue Moon Belgian White and Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy, to our economy and value brands like Miller High Life and Keystone, we produce many beloved and iconic beer brands. While our Company’s history is rooted in beer, we offer a modern portfolio that expands beyond the beer aisle as well, including flavored beverages like Vizzy Hard Seltzer, spirits like Five Trail whiskey as well as non-alcoholic beverages. As a business, our ambition is to be the first choice for our people, our consumers and our customers, and our success depends on our ability to make our products available to meet a wide range of consumer segments and occasions.

Our reporting segments include: Americas, operating in the U.S., Canada and various countries in the Caribbean, Latin and South America; and EMEA&APAC, operating in Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Montenegro, the Republic of Ireland, Romania, Serbia, the U.K., various other European countries, and certain countries within the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. In addition to our reporting segments, we also have certain activity that is not allocated to our reporting segments and reported as «Unallocated», which primarily includes financing-related costs such as interest expense and income, foreign exchange gains and losses on intercompany balances and realized and unrealized changes in fair value on instruments not designated in hedging relationships related to financing and other treasury-related activities and the unrealized changes in fair value on our commodity swaps not designated in hedging relationships recorded within cost of goods sold, which are later reclassified when realized to the segment in which the underlying exposure resides. Additionally, only the service cost component of net periodic pension and OPEB cost is reported within each operating segment, and all other components remain in Unallocated.

Our Imprint strategy is focused on People & Planet initiatives that support our commitment to raising industry standards and leaving a positive imprint on our employees, consumers, communities and the environment. To learn more about Molson Coors Beverage Company, visit molsoncoors.com, MolsonCoorsOurImprint.com or on X (formerly Twitter) through @MolsonCoors.

ABOUT MOLSON COORS CANADA INC.

Molson Coors Canada Inc. («MCCI») is a subsidiary of Molson Coors Beverage Company. MCCI Class A and Class B exchangeable shares offer substantially the same economic and voting rights as the respective classes of common shares of MCBC, as described in MCBC’s annual proxy statement and Form 10-K filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The trustee holder of the special Class A voting stock and the special Class B voting stock has the right to cast a number of votes equal to the number of then outstanding Class A exchangeable shares and Class B exchangeable shares, respectively.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws. Generally, the words «expects,» «intend,» «goals,» «plans,» «believes,» «continues,» «may,» «anticipate,» «seek,» «estimate,» «outlook,» «trends,» «future benefits,» «potential,» «projects,» «strategies,» «implies,» and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Statements that refer to projections of our future financial performance, our anticipated growth and trends in our businesses, and other characterizations of future events or circumstances are forward-looking statements, and include, but are not limited to, statements under the headings «CEO and CFO Perspectives» and «2024 Outlook,» with respect to, among others, expectations of cost inflation, limited consumer disposable income, consumer preferences, overall volume and market share trends, pricing trends, industry forces, cost reduction strategies, shipment levels and profitability, the sufficiency of capital resources, anticipated results, expectations for funding future capital expenditures and operations, effective tax rate, debt service capabilities, timing and amounts of debt and leverage levels, Preserving the Planet and related initiatives and expectations regarding future dividends and share repurchases. In addition, statements that we make in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may also be forward-looking statements.

Although the Company believes that the assumptions upon which its forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these assumptions will prove to be correct.

Contacts

Investor Relations
Greg Tierney, (414) 931-3303

Traci Mangini, (415) 308-0151

News Media

Rachel Dickens, (314) 452-9673

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