2024 ends on a low for Molson Coors Beverage Co - results data

Fourth-quarter sales decline 1.9% to US$2.74bn
For the full year of 2024, top line flat – -0.6% – at $11.63bn
This year expected to deliver low single-digit sales lift

Molson Coors Beverage Co has posted a disappointing finish to last year, with the last three quarters undoing the good work in Q1.

A 1.9% sales fall in the three months to the end of December followed Q3’s marked decline, resulting in a flat top-line showing for 2024. Despite the deceleration, the North America-focused group managed to achieve its revised full-year guidance for the 12-month period, with CEO Gavin Hattersley describing 2024 as “another year of progress for Molson Coors”.

The “wind-down of a contract brewing arrangement, which terminated at the end of 2024” was the main reason given for a 2.2% sales decrease in the ‘Americas’ reporting region for Q4. Volumes-wise, the region – by far the group’s largest – dipped by low single-digits due to weaker showing for its ‘above-premium’ portfolio in the US and a strong year-prior period for “core power brands” stable, which includes Coors Light and Miller Lite.

For the full-year, ‘Americas’ registered a decline in year-on-year sales of 1.7%.

As for the rest of the world, namely ‘Europe, Middle East & Africa and Asia Pacific’, a 0.5% slip in Q4 reflected a competitive promotional landscape in Western Europe combining with soft market demand. The softness was also observed in Central & Eastern Europe. The wider reporting region benefitted from what Molson Coors called “premiumisation and favourable channel mix” throughout the year – the Madrí brand earned a namecheck for its UK performance – resulting in a 4.1% sales lift for the 12 months..

“Amid a challenging macroeconomic environment, we continued to support the health of our brands globally and premiumise our business in several markets while developing plans for premiumisation in the US in 2025,” said Hattersley. “We enter this year confident, issuing 2025 guidance that … reflects our confidence in our business … .”

Flagging an “acceleration plan” that will “aggressively premiumise our portfolio” and “scale and expand in ‘beyond-beer'”, the company set its stall out for 2025 with a low single-digit sales growth forecast.

Despite coming in behind 2023, last year was still markedly ahead of the group’s pre-pandemic performances; versus 2018, the group was up by just under 8%. However, of the multinational brewers to report so far, Molson Coors sits behind Carlsberg’s +2.4% showing and Heineken’s +5% table-topper. Anheuser-Busch InBev is scheduled to report on 26 February.