Third Quarter 2016 Highlights⁽¹⁾

• Worldwide beer volume: 15.9 million hectoliters, decreased 3.8%; Coors Light volume decreased 3.3% worldwide
• Net sales: $947.6 million, decreased 6.9% on a reported basis, and decreased 2.2% in constant currency
• Net sales per HL: $109.65, decreased 3.5%, and increased 1.3% in constant currency
• U.S. GAAP net income from continuing operations attributable to MCBC: $202.5 million ($0.94 per diluted share), increased from $13.7 million a year ago
• Underlying after-tax income: $222.7 million ($1.03 per diluted share), decreased 14.3%
• Underlying EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization): $403.1 million, decreased 4.1%

Year-to-Date 2016 Highlights⁽¹⁾

• Worldwide beer volume: 43.7 million hectoliters, decreased 1.4%; Coors Light volume increased 1.2% worldwide
• Net sales: $2.591 billion, decreased 4.9% on a reported basis, and declined 0.1% in constant currency
• Net sales per HL: $112.80, decreased 3.9%, and increased 0.9% in constant currency
• U.S. GAAP net income from continuing operations attributable to MCBC: $539.8 million ($2.54 per diluted share), increased 67.5%
• Underlying after-tax income: $576.4 million ($2.71 per diluted share), decreased 5.5%
• Underlying EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization): $1,095.2 million, decreased 0.8%

DENVER & MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE: TAP; TSX: TPX) today reported U.S. GAAP net income from continuing operations attributable to MCBC of $202.5 million, an increase versus $13.7 million a year ago, primarily driven by cycling $275.0 million of impairment charges recorded for certain Europe brands last year, partially offset by special charges and other non-core expenses related to the MillerCoors transaction this year. The Company also reported a 14.3 percent decrease in underlying after-tax income for the third quarter 2016, driven by lower worldwide volume, a higher underlying tax rate, and higher brand investments globally, which were partially offset by positive mix and higher underlying U.S. equity income.

Molson Coors president and chief executive officer Mark Hunter said, “In the third quarter, we continued to focus on our First Choice ambition and on building a stronger, broader and more premium brand portfolio, underpinned by incremental sales and marketing investment, as we have discussed all year. Business highlights for the quarter and year to date included net sales revenue per hectoliter growth on a constant currency basis in all of our businesses, along with increased investments in our brands globally. In the U.S., Coors Light and Miller Lite again gained share of the premium light segment for the quarter, and Coors Light achieved its highest segment share gain in three years. Year to date, Coors Light grew volume more than 1 percent globally, with growth of more than 14 percent outside of North America. We also continued to strengthen our business through improvements to our sales execution and revenue management capabilities, increased efficiency of our operations, and implementation of common global systems."

Mark added, "This is a historic time in the evolution of Molson Coors. Three weeks ago, we completed our acquisition of the remaining 58 percent stake in the MillerCoors’ joint venture, along with the Miller global brand portfolio. We emerge as the world’s third-largest brewer, bringing together Molson Coors and MillerCoors into a bigger, better organization. As one company with an expanded portfolio of iconic brands, we intend to leverage our increased scale, resources, synergies and combined commercial experience to accelerate our First Choice agenda and deliver long-term shareholder value."

Operating and Underlying Free Cash Flow

U.S. GAAP net cash provided by operating activities through the third quarter of 2016 was $630.2 million which represents an increase of $151.2 million from prior year driven by higher cash paid for pension contributions in 2015.

Underlying free cash flow through the third quarter of 2016 was $469.4 million. This represents a decrease of $24.9 million from the prior year, primarily driven by lower underlying after-tax income and lower distributions from MillerCoors.

Foreign Exchange

The Company’s third quarter underlying consolidated pretax income includes the positive effect of foreign currency movements totaling $1.9 million. Positive currency impacts of $1.5 million in Canada and $6.5 million in Corporate were partially offset by a negative currency impact of $6.1 million in Europe.

Effective Income Tax Rates

The Company’s third quarter effective income tax rate was 8.8 percent on a reported basis and 19.2 percent on an underlying basis. The effective tax rate on a reported basis was significantly lower than the prior year due to lower reported net income last year, higher tax-deductible costs this year related to the MillerCoors transaction, and favorable tax treatment associated with the sale of the Vancouver brewery earlier in the year. The underlying effective tax rate was higher than prior year primarily due to cycling discrete and other tax benefits last year.

Debt

Total debt at the end of the third quarter was $9.888 billion, and cash and cash equivalents totaled $9.982 billion, resulting in a net cash position of $93.9 million, primarily due to the proceeds received from our February 2016 equity and July 2016 debt offerings.

Third Quarter Business Segment Results

The following are the Company’s third quarter 2016 results by business segment:

United States Business (MillerCoors)⁽²⁾

In our U.S. segment, reported equity income increased 16.0 percent to $156.9 million in the third quarter of 2016 compared to the prior year, driven by lower special charges related to the closure of the Eden, North Carolina, brewery this year, as well as higher net pricing, positive sales mix, and lower cost of goods sold.

Underlying U.S. segment equity income increased 9.0 percent to $160.4 million in the quarter, due to higher net pricing, positive sales mix, and lower cost of goods sold.

MillerCoors Operating and Financial Highlights

MillerCoors domestic sales-to-retailers volume (STRs) declined 4.0 percent for the quarter. Domestic sales-to-wholesalers volume (STWs) decreased 0.6 percent. Domestic net revenue per hectoliter, which excludes contract brewing and company-owned-distributor sales, grew 1.6 percent due to favorable net pricing and positive sales mix. Total company net revenue per hectoliter, including contract brewing and company-owned-distributor sales, increased 1.5 percent. Contract brewing volumes decreased 5.0 percent.

Cost of goods sold (COGS) per hectoliter decreased 0.9 percent, driven by supply chain cost savings and lower commodity pricing, partially offset by lower fixed-cost absorption due to lower volumes. Marketing, general and administrative (MG&A) expense was unchanged.

Reported MillerCoors net income for the quarter increased 16.7 percent to $369.2 million, driven by lower special charges related to the closure of the Eden brewery this year, along with higher net pricing, positive sales mix and lower COGS. Underlying net income for the quarter increased 9.6 percent to $377.5 million, driven by higher net pricing, positive sales mix and lower COGS.

Depreciation and amortization expenses for MillerCoors were $118.5 million in the third quarter, which include accelerated depreciation expense related to the closure of the Eden brewery of $34.3 million. Additions to tangible and intangible assets, which do not include intangible asset additions related to the craft acquisitions, totaled $84.1 million in the third quarter.

Canada Business

Canada STRs decreased 3.2 percent on a reported basis in the third quarter, and sales volume decreased 2.9 percent. Net sales per hectoliter increased 0.6 percent in local currency, driven primarily by positive mix.

COGS per hectoliter increased 3.5 percent in local currency, due to cost inflation, mix shift to higher-cost brands, volume deleverage, and foreign currency movements, partially offset by cost savings. MG&A expense increased 3.1 percent in local currency, driven by higher brand investments, partially offset by lower incentive compensation.

Canada income from continuing operations before income taxes on a reported basis decreased by 1.6 percent to $90.3 million in the third quarter of 2016 compared to the prior year, driven by lower volumes, higher COGS and brand investments, partially offset by cost savings and lower special charges this year.

Canada underlying pretax income decreased 14.8 percent to $91.6 million in the quarter, primarily due to lower volume and higher COGS and brand investments, partially offset by results of cost savings initiatives. Foreign currency movements positively impacted earnings by $1.5 million.

Europe Business

Europe sales volume decreased 1.4 percent, driven by weaker demand versus strong sales last year across much of the region, along with excess trade inventory from the Euro 2016 Football Championships in the second quarter this year. Europe net sales per hectoliter increased 1.2 percent in local currency, due to positive brand and geographic mix.

COGS per hectoliter increased 2.3 percent in local currency, driven by mix shift to higher-cost brands and geographies, along with lower net pension benefit and fixed-cost deleverage due to lower volume. MG&A expense increased 1.5 percent in local currency, due to higher brand amortization expenses.

Europe income from continuing operations before income taxes on a reported basis improved to $98.5 million in the third quarter of 2016, up from a $183.2 million loss last year, primarily driven by cycling $275.0 million of impairment charges recorded for certain Europe brands last year.

Europe underlying pretax income decreased 11.7 percent to $83.5 million in the quarter, due to unfavorable foreign currency movements, higher brand amortization expenses and lower net pension benefit. Foreign currency movements negatively impacted underlying results by $6.1 million.

International Business

Total International sales volume, including royalty volume, decreased 20.5 percent, driven by the enactment of total alcohol prohibition in Bihar, India, earlier this year, and the transfer of Staropramen in the U.K. to our Europe segment. Net sales per hectoliter increased 27.1 percent, driven by favorable sales mix changes.

COGS per hectoliter increased 18.6 percent, due to sales mix changes. International MG&A expense decreased 3.6 percent, driven by lower expenses following our China restructure last year, partially offset by higher brand investments in Latin America and foreign currency movements.

The International segment reported a loss from continuing operations before income taxes and an underlying pretax loss of $2.7 million in the third quarter of 2016, compared to a $2.1 million loss in the prior year, primarily driven by the impact of total alcohol prohibition in Bihar, the transfer of the Staropramen U.K. business and higher brand investments in Latin America, partially offset by favorable sales mix and lower expenses in China.

Corporate

Corporate pretax loss on a reported basis was $119.6 million in the third quarter versus $56.8 million in the prior year, primarily due to costs related to the MillerCoors acquisition, including $17.2 million of transaction costs recorded within MG&A expenses; $11.0 million recorded within other income (expense); and $39.3 million recorded within interest expense, net. Additionally, Corporate COGS included $3.5 million of gains related to unrealized mark-to-market adjustments for commodity swaps, compared to $5.1 million of losses in the prior year.

Underlying Corporate pretax loss totaled $55.6 million for the third quarter versus a $51.7 million loss in the prior year, driven by higher global commercial investments.

Special and Other Non-Core Items⁽³⁾

The following special and other non-core items have been excluded from underlying results:

During the quarter, Molson Coors recognized a net special gain of $4.9 million, primarily driven by the receipt of net insurance proceeds of $9.3 million related to the Balkan floods in 2014, partially offset by asset abandonment costs of $3.5 million in Europe due to the closure of our Plovdiv and Alton breweries and the planned closure of our Burton South brewery, as well as $1.3 million of costs in Canada related to the planned closure of our Vancouver brewery.

During the quarter, MillerCoors recognized net special charges of $8.3 million primarily related to the closure of the Eden brewery. Our proportionate share of the special charges is $3.5 million.

Additionally, during the quarter we recorded net other non-core charges of $55.2 million incurred primarily in connection with the Acquisition of MillerCoors and the Miller global brand portfolio.

2016 Third 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 2016 third 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 1:00 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 February 13, 2017. The Company will post this release and related financial statements on its website today.

^Footnotes:

^{(1) The Company calculates non-GAAP underlying pretax and after-tax income, underlying effective tax rate, underlying EBITDA and underlying free cash flow results 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. In addition, constant-currency results exclude the impact of foreign currency movements. 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 third quarter and year to date ended September 30, 2016, compared to the third quarter and year to date ended September 30, 2015. 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. Some numbers may not sum due to rounding.}

^{(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). On November 11, 2015, we entered into a purchase agreement to acquire all of SABMiller’s 58 percent interest in MillerCoors and all trademarks, contracts and other assets primarily related to the Miller brand portfolio outside of the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Following the closing of the acquisition on October 11, 2016, MillerCoors became a wholly-owned subsidiary of MCBC and as a result, MCBC now owns 100 percent of the outstanding equity and voting interests of MillerCoors. Unless otherwise indicated, MillerCoors per-hectoliter results include contract brewing volume in the denominator of the calculation, as well as the financial impact of these sales in the numerator.}

^{(3) See table 2 for the impact of specials and other non-core items by segment.}

Overview of Molson Coors

With a story that starts in 1774, Molson Coors has spent centuries defining brewing greatness. As the third largest global brewer, Molson Coors works to deliver extraordinary brands that delight the world’s beer drinkers. From Coors Light, Miller Lite, Carling, Staropramen and Sharp’s Doom Bar to Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy, Blue Moon Belgian White, Pilsner Urquell, Creemore Springs Premium Lager and Smith & Forge Hard Cider, Molson Coors offers a beer for every beer lover.

Molson Coors operates through Molson Coors Canada, MillerCoors, Molson Coors Europe and Molson Coors International. The company is not only committed to brewing extraordinary beers, but also running a business focused on respect for its employees, communities and drinkers, which means corporate responsibility and accountability right from the start. It has been listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the past five years. To learn more about Molson Coors Brewing Company, visit molsoncoors.com, ourbeerprint.com or on Twitter through @MolsonCoors.

About Molson Coors Canada Inc.

Molson Coors Canada Inc. (MCCI) is a subsidiary of Molson Coors Brewing Company. MCCI Class A and Class B exchangeable shares offer substantially the same economic and voting rights as the respective classes of common shares of MCBC, as described in MCBC’s annual proxy statement and Form 10-K filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The trustee holder of the special Class A voting stock and the special Class B voting stock has the right to cast a number of votes equal to the number of then outstanding Class A exchangeable shares and Class B exchangeable shares, respectively.

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 the acquisition of MillerCoors; our ability to achieve expected tax benefits, accretion and cost savings and synergies; impact of increased competition resulting from further consolidation of brewers, competitive pricing and product pressures; health of the beer industry and our brands in our markets; economic conditions in our markets; additional impairment charges; our ability to maintain manufacturer/distribution agreements; changes in our supply chain system; availability or increase in the cost of packaging materials; success of our joint ventures; risks relating to operations in developing and emerging markets; changes in legal and regulatory requirements, including the regulation of distribution systems; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; increase in the cost of commodities used in the business; the impact of climate change and the availability and quality of water; loss or closure of a major brewery or other key facility; our ability to implement our strategic initiatives, including executing and realizing cost savings; our ability to successfully integrate newly acquired businesses; pension plan costs; failure to comply with debt covenants or deterioration in our credit rating; our ability to maintain good labor relations; our ability to maintain brand image, reputation and product quality; lack of full-control over the operations of MillerCoors and other risks discussed in our filings with the SEC, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K. 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.

Use of Non-GAAP Measures

In addition to financial measures presented on the basis of accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. ("U.S. GAAP"), we also present pretax and after-tax "underlying income," "underlying income per diluted share," "underlying effective tax rate," and "underlying free cash flow," which are non-GAAP measures and should be viewed as supplements to (not substitutes for) our results of operations presented under U.S. GAAP. We also present underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization ("underlying EBITDA") as a non-GAAP measure. Our management uses underlying income, underlying income per diluted share, underlying EBITDA, and underlying effective tax rate as measures of operating performance, as well as underlying free cash flow in the measure of cash generated from core operations, to assist in comparing performance from period to period on a consistent basis; as a measure for planning and forecasting overall expectations and for evaluating actual results against such expectations; in communications with the board of directors, stockholders, analysts and investors concerning our financial performance; as useful comparisons to the performance of our competitors; and as metrics of certain management incentive compensation calculations. We believe that underlying income, underlying income per diluted share, underlying EBITDA, and underlying effective tax rate performance are used by, and are useful to, investors and other users of our financial statements in evaluating our operating performance, as well as underlying free cash flow in evaluating our generation of cash from core operations, because they provide an additional tool to evaluate our performance without regard to special and non-core items, which can vary substantially from company to company depending upon accounting methods and book value of assets and capital structure. In addition to the reasons discussed above, we consider underlying free cash flow an important measure of our ability to generate cash, grow our business and enhance shareholder value, driven by core operations and after adjusting for non-core items. For discussion and analysis of our liquidity, see the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of cash flows and the Liquidity and Capital Resources section of our Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in our latest Form 10-K and 10-Q filings with the SEC. We have provided reconciliations of all non-GAAP measures to their nearest U.S. GAAP measure and have consistently applied the adjustments within our reconciliations in arriving at each non-GAAP measure. These adjustments consist of special items from our U.S. GAAP financial statements as well as other non-core items, such as acquisition and integration related costs, unrealized mark-to-market gains and losses, and gains and losses on sales of non-operating assets, included in our U.S. GAAP results that warrant adjustment to arrive at non-GAAP results. We consider these items to be necessary adjustments for purposes of evaluating our ongoing business performance and are often considered non-recurring. Such adjustments are subjective and involve significant management judgment.

Constant currency is a non-GAAP measure utilized by Molson Coors management to measure performance, excluding the impact of foreign currency movements. As we operate in various foreign countries where the local currency may strengthen or weaken significantly versus the U.S. dollar or other currencies used in operations, we utilize a constant currency measure as an additional metric to evaluate the underlying performance of each business without consideration of foreign currency movements. This information is non-GAAP and should be viewed as a supplement to (not a substitute for) our reported results of operations under U.S. GAAP. We calculate the impact of foreign exchange on net sales, pretax income and non-GAAP underlying pretax income using the following steps:

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Source: Molson Coors