Cost cuts will help Molson recover

Article Excerpt

Molson’s shares are down over 20% since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s due to the closures of bars and restaurants—which normally supply about 25% of its sales. Lower costs will help the company cope, but the stock will remain depressed until sales rebound. MOLSON COORS CANADA INC. is still a hold. The stock (Toronto symbols TPX.A $50 and TPX.B $51; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Consumer sector; Shares o/s: 216.7 million; Market cap: $11.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend suspended in March 2020; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.molsoncoors.com) gives you a stake in one of the world’s leading beer brewers. Molson’s sales in the quarter, ended June 30, 2020, fell 15.1%, to $2.50 billion from $2.95 billion a year earlier (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). If you factor out currency rates, sales declined 14.3%. In response to the lower sales, Molson cut its planned capital spending for 2020 by $200 million. It’s also spending less on advertising. In addition,…