Innovative products brighten their outlook

Article Excerpt

MOLSON COORS CANADA INC. (Toronto symbols TPX.A $88 and TPX.B $89; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Consumer sector; Shares o/s: 215.8 million; Market cap: $19.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; Divd. yield: 2.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.molsoncoors.com) is one of the world’s largest brewers of beer. Its top brands include Coors Light, Miller Genuine Draft, Molson Canadian and Carling. In October 2016, the company acquired the remaining 58% of its MillerCoors brewing joint venture from SABMiller for $12 billion (all amounts except share prices in U.S. dollars). Back in 2008, the two firms agreed to combine their U.S. brewing operations. Molson now expects merger savings and other cost cuts will save it a total of $700 million between 2017 and 2019. That’s more than its initial goal of $600 million. The company now plans to spur its sales with cannabis-infused, non-alcoholic beverages. Molson recently formed a joint venture called Truss with Canadian cannabis producer HEXO Corp. (Toronto symbol HEXO); it now owns 57.5% of that joint venture. The partners aim…