Molson Coors Reports Higher Net Sales, Underlying After-Tax Income and EBITDA for the Second Quarter

Molson Coors Reports Higher Net Sales, Underlying After-Tax Income and EBITDA for the Second Quarter 2013

$690 million of Underlying EBITDA and $366 million of Underlying Free Cash Flow Generated in First Half 2013

Second Quarter 2013 Highlights⁽¹⁾

• Worldwide beer volume: 16.7 million hectoliters, increased 20.2%

• Net sales: $1.18 billion, increased 17.9%

• Underlying after-tax income: $278.6 million, increased 11.4% ($1.51 per diluted share)

• Net income from continuing operations attributable to MCBC: $276.7 million, increased 165.3% ($1.50 per diluted share)

• Non-GAAP underlying EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization): $473.2 million, increased 12.5%

• First half 2013 Underlying Free Cash Flow: $365.8 million, increased 8.8%, or $29.5 million

DENVER & MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE: TAP; TSX: TPX) today reported a 20.2 percent increase in second quarter worldwide beer volume and 17.9 percent higher net sales in the second quarter of 2013 due to the June 2012 acquisition of the company's Central Europe operations. Underlying after-tax income increased 11.4 percent for the second quarter 2013, driven by the addition of a full quarter of Central Europe operating results this year, along with a lower effective tax rate and improved financial performance in our Europe and International businesses this year. The reduction in tax rate was primarily attributable to changes in Canada tax legislation during the quarter. Net income from continuing operations attributable to MCBC (a U.S. GAAP earnings measure) increased 165.3 percent due to the same factors affecting underlying after-tax income, together with a $172 million reduction in special and other non-core expenses primarily related to the Central Europe acquisition last year.

Molson Coors president and chief executive officer Peter Swinburn said, "In the second quarter, Molson Coors delivered double-digit underlying earnings growth - and more than 165 percent growth on a U.S. GAAP basis. This underlying income growth was driven by earnings accretion from the Central Europe acquisition that we completed during June last year and improved financial performance in our Europe and International businesses, along with a lower quarterly tax rate this year. We also generated strong free cash flow and reduced our net debt by $373 million in the quarter. We delivered these results despite weak consumer demand and poor weather across all of our markets. Most of our key brands in core markets gained or held share versus a year ago. Our results also benefited from the introduction of brand and packaging innovations globally and from the strength of our above-premium brands, which gained market share in each of our businesses."

Swinburn added, "In the remainder of the year, we expect consumer demand to remain weak. Despite this, we plan to increase our marketing investments behind our core brands and innovation in order to drive long-term total returns for our shareholders."

Underlying EBITDA and Free Cash Flow

Underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or underlying EBITDA, reached $473.2 million in the 2nd quarter, a 12.5% increase from a year ago. Year to date underlying EBITDA grew 9.6% from the first half of 2012 to $690.4 million this year.

Underlying free cash flow for the first half of 2013 totaled $365.8 million. This represents an increase of $29.5 million over last year, driven by improvements in working capital and the addition of Central Europe operating cash flow, partially offset by the addition of Central Europe capital spending.

Foreign Exchange

The Company's second quarter results include the impact of unfavorable foreign currency movements, primarily from the Canadian Dollar and British Pound, which decreased underlying pretax income by approximately $2 million.

Effective Income Tax Rates

The Company's second quarter effective income tax rate was 11 percent on a reported basis and 12 percent on an underlying basis as a result of one-time benefits, primarily due to Canadian tax law changes, which decreased our second quarter effective tax rate by approximately 5 percentage points.

Debt

Total debt at the end of the second quarter was $4.57 billion, and cash and cash equivalents totaled $802 million, resulting in net debt of $3.77 billion.

Second Quarter Business Segment Results

The following are the Company's second quarter 2013 results by business segment:

United States Business (MillerCoors)⁽²⁾

Molson Coors underlying U.S. segment equity income decreased 6.5 percent to $172.6 million in the quarter.

MillerCoors Operating and Financial Highlights

MillerCoors underlying net income for the quarter, excluding special items, decreased 5.3 percent to $412.7 million, driven by the impact of lower beer volumes.

MillerCoors domestic sales to retailers (STRs) declined 4.4 percent for the quarter. Domestic sales to wholesalers (STWs) decreased 5.3 percent. Domestic net revenue per hectoliter, which excludes contract brewing and company-owned-distributor sales, grew 2.6 percent primarily due to favorable net pricing and sales mix. Total company net revenue per hectoliter, including contract brewing and company-owned distributor sales, increased 2.7 percent. Third-party contract brewing volumes were down 6.6 percent.

Cost of goods sold (COGS) per hectoliter increased 2.4 percent driven by commodity inflation, brand innovation and lower fixed-cost absorption. Marketing, general and administrative (MG&A) expense increased 0.2 percent, driven primarily by increased marketing investments in support of the national launches of Redd's Apple Ale, Third Shift Amber Lager and Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy, largely offset by lower pension expense.

Depreciation and amortization expenses for MillerCoors in the second quarter were $69.7 million, and additions to tangible and intangible assets totaled $65.9 million.

Canada Business

Canada underlying pretax income decreased 0.7 percent to $138.0 million in the quarter and increased 0.1 percent in local currency. These results were driven by a $12 million favorable year-over-year difference in the timing of marketing and sales spending, offset by the impact of lower volume and negative sales mix this year. A 0.9 percent decrease in the Canadian dollar versus the U.S. dollar drove an approximate $1 million negative foreign exchange impact in the quarter.

STRs decreased 4.3 percent in the second quarter primarily due to a weak Canadian market, which declined approximately 4 percent, driven by unfavorable weather conditions across key regions. Our Canada business volume was also affected by cycling the national launch of Coors Light Iced T last year. Second quarter sales volume for Molson Coors Canada decreased 2.6 percent. Net sales per hectoliter decreased 0.5 percent in local currency, driven by a sales mix shift to lower-priced brands and packages, largely offset by positive net pricing in the quarter.

COGS per hectoliter increased more than 6 percent in local currency, driven by input inflation, fixed-cost deleverage, increased asset write-offs, sales mix shift to higher-cost packages, and increased promotional packaging expense. The asset write-offs represented approximately one-third of the COGS per hectoliter increase. Cost savings partially offset these factors in the quarter. MG&A expense decreased nearly 20 percent in local currency, driven by the year-over-year difference in the timing of marketing and sales spending and a significant reduction in G&A costs.

Europe Business - Pro Forma⁽³⁾

Europe underlying pretax income increased 14.4 percent to $82.4 million on a pro forma basis, driven by positive net pricing and cost savings. Foreign currency translation had no significant effect on pro-forma Europe results.

Europe sales volume decreased 2 percent due to poor weather, including a significant flood in the Czech Republic in June. Europe net sales per hectoliter increased nearly 5 percent in local currency due to positive pricing and sales mix.

COGS per hectoliter increased approximately 2 percent in local currency, driven by adverse channel mix, with a higher proportion of sales in the off-premise channel this year, along with higher factored (non-owned) beverage sales in U.K.

MG&A expenses increased approximately 3 percent in local currency mainly due to year-over-year differences in the timing of marketing and sales spending.

International Business⁽⁴⁾

The International segment posted an underlying pretax loss of $2.4 million in the second quarter, an improvement of $11.0 million, or 82.1%, from a year ago due to the elimination of losses in our China joint venture (which was deconsolidated in the third quarter of 2012), improved profit performance in our non-joint-venture business in China, lower overhead expenses, and the net positive impact of business transfers between our Europe and International segments.

Total International sales volume, including royalty volume, increased 51 percent driven by the inclusion of the Central Europe export business this year, along with volume growth in Mexico. Net sales per hectoliter increased approximately 8 percent, driven by positive geographic mix, partially offset by the addition of the Central Europe export business at lower net sales per hectoliter.

COGS per hectoliter decreased approximately 3 percent, driven by the addition of the Central Europe export business, which has a lower cost structure than our other businesses, and the positive impact of foreign exchange movements. International MG&A expense decreased 39 percent, driven by reduced marketing investment in low-margin accounts in China, as well as the elimination of our China joint venture and reduced overhead expenses in other markets.

Corporate

Underlying Corporate pretax expenses totaled $70.9 million for the second quarter. This $15.7 million increase was due to interest expense this year related to financing our Central Europe acquisition. Foreign currency movements unfavorably impacted Corporate underlying pretax results by approximately $1 million in the quarter.

Special and Other Non-Core Items

The following special and other non-core items have been excluded from underlying pretax earnings.

During the quarter, Molson Coors special items resulted in a $1.3 million pretax charge, primarily driven by legal costs related to the planned liquidation of our joint venture in China and special termination benefit costs in Canada.

Other non-core items resulted in a $6.0 million pretax charge, which was due to a $3.9 million unrealized loss primarily related to fair value and foreign exchange movements of our 500 million Euro convertible note and $2.1 million of acquisition and integration costs.

2013 Second Quarter Conference Call

Molson Coors Brewing Company will conduct an earnings conference call with financial analysts and investors at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time today to discuss the Company's 2013 second quarter results. The Company will provide a live webcast of the earnings call.

The Company will also host an online, real-time webcast of an Investor Relations Follow-up Session with financial analysts and institutional investors at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Both webcasts will be accessible via the Company's website, www.molsoncoors.com. Online replays of the webcasts will be available until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on November 6, 2013. The Company will post this release and related financial statements on its website today.

Footnotes:

⁽¹⁾ The Company calculates non-GAAP underlying after-tax income, underlying EBITDA and underlying free cash flow by excluding special and other non-core items from the nearest U.S. GAAP performance measure, which is net income from continuing operations attributable to MCBC for both underlying after-tax income and underlying EBITDA and net cash provided by operating activities for underlying free cash flow. For further details regarding these adjustments, please see the section "Special and Other Non-Core Items," along with tables for reconciliations to the nearest U.S. GAAP measures. Unless otherwise indicated, all $ amounts are in U.S. Dollars and all quarterly comparative results are for the Company's fiscal second quarter ended June 29, 2013, compared to the fiscal second quarter ended June 30, 2012. Additionally, all per-hectoliter calculations exclude contract brewing and non-owned factored beverage volume in the denominator but include the financial impact of these sales in the numerator, unless otherwise indicated.

⁽²⁾ MillerCoors, a U.S. joint venture of Molson Coors Brewing Company and SABMiller plc, was launched on July 1, 2008. Molson Coors has a 42 percent economic interest in MillerCoors, which is accounted for using the equity method. Molson Coors' interest in MillerCoors results, along with certain adjustments under U.S. GAAP, is reflected in "Equity Income in MillerCoors." This release includes reconciliation from MillerCoors Net Income to Molson Coors Brewing Company Equity Income in MillerCoors and Non-GAAP U.S. Segment Underlying Pretax Income (see Table 6).

⁽³⁾ Unless otherwise indicated, all $ amounts are in U.S. Dollars, and quarterly comparative results are for Europe's actual fiscal second quarter ended June 29, 2013, compared to the pro forma fiscal second quarter ended June 30, 2012. Pro forma amounts include the actual results of operations for the U.K. combined with the actual results of operations for Central Europe for the period of June 15, 2012, through June 30, 2012, and pro forma results of operations for Central Europe, excluding the Central Europe global export and license business, for the period prior to June 15, 2012. The pro forma statements of operations include adjustments directly attributable to the acquisition of StarBev.

⁽⁴⁾ Beginning July 1, 2012, our Central Europe export and license business ("Central Europe export"), is reported in our MCI segment. For periods prior to this date, this business was included with the Central Europe business, which we acquired on June 15, 2012. Beginning December 30, 2012, with the combination of our U.K. and Central Europe businesses, our Carling travel and export business is reported in our Europe segment. For periods prior to this date, this business was included within the International business.

Overview of Molson Coors

Molson Coors Brewing Company is one of the world's largest brewers. The Company's operating segments include Canada, the United States, Europe, and Molson Coors International (MCI). The Company has a diverse portfolio of owned and partner brands, including signature brands Coors Light, Molson Canadian, Staropramen and Carling. Molson Coors is listed as the beverage industry sector leader on the 2012/2013 Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (W1SGITRD), the most recognized global benchmark of sustainability among global corporations. For more information on Molson Coors Brewing Company, visit the company's web site, www.molsoncoors.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes estimates or projections that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws.Generally, the words "believe," expect," intend," anticipate," "project," "will," and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which generally are not historic in nature.Although the Company believes that the assumptions upon which its forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these assumptions will prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's historical experience, and present projections and expectations are disclosed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").These factors include, among others, our ability to successfully integrate our Central Europe business, retain key employees and achieve planned cost synergies; pension plan costs; availability or increase in the cost of packaging materials; our ability to maintain manufacturer/distribution agreements; impact of competitive pricing and product pressures; our ability to implement our strategic initiatives, including executing and realizing cost savings; changes in legal and regulatory requirements, including the regulation of distribution systems; increase in the cost of commodities used in the business; our ability to maintain brand image, reputation and product quality; our ability to maintain good labor relations; changes in our supply chain system; additional impairment charges; the impact of climate change and the availability and quality of water; the ability of MillerCoors to integrate operations and technologies; lack of full-control over the operations of MillerCoors; the ability of MillerCoors to maintain good relationships with its distributors; and other risks discussed in our filings with the SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year-ended December 29, 2012, which are available from the SEC.All forward-looking statements in this press release are expressly qualified by such cautionary statements and by reference to the underlying assumptions. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made.We do not undertake to update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.