Molson Coors tops 4Q profit forecasts

DENVER (AP) _ Molson Coors Brewing Co. (TAP) on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter net income of $588.8 million.

On a per-share basis, the Denver-based company said it had net income of $2.72. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were 62 cents per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 56 cents per share.

The beer maker posted revenue of $3.21 billion in the period. Its adjusted revenue was $2.58 billion, missing Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $2.6 billion.

For the year, the company reported profit of $1.41 billion, or $6.53 per share. Revenue was reported as $11 billion.

Molson Coors shares have declined almost 8 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has stayed nearly flat. The stock has declined 21 percent in the last 12 months.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on TAP at https://www.zacks.com/ap/TAP