Molson Coors Brewing Co. posted a net profit of US$60 million in the fourth quarter, or 33 cents per diluted share, with $1.48 billion of sales.
The quarter included a number of special items for the multinational brewing company, including $22.8 million for restructuring, a $6.5-million charge related for its portion of an IT writeoff at MillerCoors and other tax and investment items.
The company says its underlying after-tax income, after adjustments, was $126.1 million or 69 cents per share.
On an operational front, the company showed improvements – selling more volume and reaping higher sales compared with a year earlier, even though the fourth quarter of 2011 had a 14th week, one more than usual.
Molson Coors had said that the NHL lockout hurt its sales across Canada for its marquee brands as its most important cold-weather driver of sales had disappeared.
CEO Peter Swinburn said in November that the company would seek financial compensation from the league once the lockout ended over the negative impact that a lack of games has had on the hockey league sponsor.
In the fourth quarter of 2011, Molson Coors had US$173.2 million net income and $1.39 billion of revenue. Its adjusted underlying after-tax income was $176 million or 97 cents per share.
The brewer has recently benefited from the contribution of its acquisition in Central Europe and improving results in the United States.
Molson Coors employs 15,000 people at 18 breweries and operations in more than 30 countries.
It has a portfolio of more than 65 strategic and partner brands, including Coors, Coors Light, Molson Canadian, Carling, Blue Moon, Keystone and Richard’s.
The Molson Coors Brewing Co. was formed in 2005 following the merger between North American family-run breweries Molson Inc. and the Adolph Coors Company.
