MOLSON COORS CANADA INC. (Toronto symbols TPX.A $51 and TPX.B $51; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 183.6 million; Market cap: $9.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1; Dividend yield: 2.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.molsoncoors.com) is one of the world’s leading brewers. Its main brands include Coors Light, Molson Canadian and Carling.
In the three months ended June 29, 2013, the company earned $278.6 million (all amounts except share prices and market cap in U.S. dollars). That’s up 11.4% from $250.1 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 9.4%, to $1.51 from $1.38. These figures exclude unusual items, mainly costs to integrate StarBev LP, which the company bought for $3.4 billion in June 2012. StarBev owns nine breweries in central and eastern Europe.
Thanks mainly to StarBev’s contribution, sales rose 17.9%, to $1.2 billion from $999.4 million. StarBev is also helping the company offset slower beer sales in North America.
The stock trades at a low 12.4 times the $4.00 U.S. a share that the company should earn this year. The $1.28 U.S. dividend yields 2.6%.
Molson Coors’ class B shares have less voting power to elect directors than the class A shares, but they are more liquid and receive the same dividend.
Molson Coors B is a buy.