MillerCoors 3Q income rises 15 pct on cost savings

LONDON - Brewer MillerCoors, the new joint venture between Molson Coors and SABMiller's U.S. unit, announced Wednesday that third quarter net income was 15 percent higher than the combined total the two companies had made a year earlier when they were operating separately.

London-based SABMiller PLC and Denver-based Molson Coors Brewing Co. said net income, as recorded under US GAAP accounting standards, at MillerCoors rose to $168 million during the three months to Sept. 30 — up from $146 million in the third quarter of 2007.

Over the same period, total sales at MillerCoors, which was launched as a joint venture on July 1 of this year, increased 2.1 percent to $1.95 billion.

The companies said MillerCoors' income had been boosted by significant cost savings in marketing and overhead expenses resulting from the tie-up, adding that they were on track to save $50 million in the first year.

"As expected, MillerCoors is already driving profitable growth based on our early efforts to build a stronger and more competitive U.S. brewer," said MillerCoors Chief Executive Leo Kiely.

SABMiller's share price dipped less than 1 percent to close at 985.5 pence ($15.80) on the London Stock Exchange.

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