Cost cuts fuel Molson’s earnings

Article Excerpt

MOLSON COORS CANADA INC. (Toronto symbols TPX.A $62 and TPX.B $62; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 183.9 million; Market cap: $11.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 2.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.molsoncoors.com) continues to make progress integrating StarBev LP, which it bought for $3.4 billion in June 2012 (all amounts except share prices and market cap in U.S. dollars). StarBev owns nine breweries in central and eastern Europe. These savings are helping Molson Coors offset slowing beer demand. In the third quarter of 2013, its earnings rose 7.7%, to $268.1 million from $248.9 million a year earlier. Due to more shares outstanding, earnings per share gained 5.8%, to $1.45 from $1.37. However, sales fell 2.0%, to $1.17 billion from $2.0 billion. The 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 class B stock is a buy. buy…