(New York symbol TAP; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 183.5 million; Market cap: $9.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.3; Dividend yield: 2.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.molsoncoors.com) continues to benefit from last year’s $3.5-billion purchase of StarBev, which owns nine breweries in central and eastern Europe.
Thanks to StarBev, Molson Coors’ sales rose 17.9% in the quarter ended June 29, 2013, to $1.2 billion from $999.4 million a year ago. StarBev is also helping offset slower North American sales.
If you exclude costs to integrate StarBev and other unusual items, the company earned $278.6 million in the quarter, up 11.4% from $250.1 million a year earlier. Due to more shares outstanding, earnings per share rose 9.4%, to $1.51 from $1.38.
The higher earnings are letting Molson Coors pay down the extra debt it took on to buy StarBev. As of June 29, 2013, its long-term debt was $3.3 billion, or 33% of its market cap, down from $3.4 billion at the end of 2012.
The stock trades at a reasonable 13.7 times the $3.95 a share that the company should earn in 2013. The $1.28 dividend yields 2.4%.
Molson Coors is a buy.