Molson Coors Sales Buoyed By MillerCoors Acquisition

Molson Coors Brewing Co. said Wednesday it had net income of $201.3 million, or 93 cents a share, in the first quarter, up from $162.7 million, or 80 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Sales rose to $2.91 billion from $950.8 million. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of $1.29 and sales of $2.46 billion. Sales were boosted by the acquisition of MillerCoors which was completed late last year. Chief Executive Mark Hunter said 2017 will be a transition year for the company following that deal. "First quarter underlying earnings were lower than last year, primarily due to higher brand amortization expense and weaker January and February volumes in the U.S. this year-- and because we were cycling strong earnings comparatives from last year," he said in a statement. Shares fell 0.9% in premarket trade, and are down 2% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.8%.