Molson Coors OKs $2 billion buyback program, targets long-term sales growth in the low single digits

Molson Coors Beverage Co. (TAP) on Tuesday said its board had cleared a five-year, $2 billion stock buyback program and said it was "on track" to deliver its second straight year of sales and profit growth. The remarks were made in connection with the brewer's 2023 strategy day in New York. Longer term, executives said they expected "low-single digit" annual net sales growth when factoring out currency fluctuations, with "high-single-digit" yearly "underlying" per-share profit growth. Executives said a bigger push toward more premium beverages would help drive that growth, as well as an expansion beyond beer. They said they expected high-single digit constant-currency sales growth for 2023, but did not offer specific forecasts for 2024. "Over the past few years, long before controversy upended the U.S. beer industry, we changed how we invest, market, and operate, and we changed our future," Chief Executive Gavin Hattersley said, adding that the company had been "turned around." Shares fell 1.6% on Tuesday.

-Bill Peters

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10-03-23 1605ET

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