Molson Coors Brewing Co. reported non-GAAP earnings of 84 cents per share for the fourth quarter 2018, beating Wall Street analysts’ expectations of 80 cents.
The brewing company’s group sales of $2.419 billion, however, fell short of analysts’ estimate of $2.54 billion. The figure was also -6.2% lower compared to the year-ago quarter. Softening demand in the U.S. was apparently a drag on beer sales.
For 2019, the company expects to have free-cash flow of around $1.4 billion (plus or minus 10%). It also plans to save $450 million in costs in addition to its plan to reduce costs by $7000 million over the next three years.
Molson Coors announced a dividend payout-ratio between 20% and 25% of its annual trailing earnings to be introduced by the middle of this year.