DENVER and MONTREAL, May 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Molson Coors Brewing Company ("Molson Coors" or the "Company") (NYSE:TAPNYSE:TAP.A) announced today that its Board of Directors has approved a 20% increase in the quarterly dividend rate on its Class A and Class B common shares from US$0.20 per share to US$0.24 per share, payable June 15, 2009, to shareholders of record on May 29, 2009. The quarterly dividend increase raises the annual dividend rate from US$0.80 per share to US$0.96 per share. In addition, Molson Coors Canada Inc. (TSX: TPX.B, TPX.A) declared a quarterly dividend on its Class A and Class B exchangeable shares of approximately CDN$0.28 (the Canadian equivalent of the dividend declared on the Molson Coors' stock), payable June 15, 2009, to its Class A and Class B exchangeable shareholders of record on May 29, 2009.
"Since the merger of Molson and Coors in 2005, we have strengthened the financial foundation of Molson Coors by building our brands, reducing costs, paying down significant amounts of our outstanding debt and increasing our free cash flow," said Peter Swinburn, president and chief executive officer of Molson Coors Brewing Company. "We are in a strong position to increase cash returns to shareholders, while preserving the financial flexibility to explore growth opportunities that meet our strict return criteria." Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Although the Company believes that the assumptions upon which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these assumptions will prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's projections and expectations are disclosed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These factors include, among others, changes in consumer preferences and product trends; price discounting by major competitors; failure to realize the anticipated cost savings and other benefits from the MillerCoors joint venture; failure to realize anticipated results from synergy initiatives; and increases in costs generally. All forward-looking statements in this press release are expressly qualified by such cautionary statements and by reference to the underlying assumptions. We do not undertake to update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. DATASOURCE: Molson Coors Brewing Company CONTACT: News Media, Paul de la Plante, +1-514-843-2332, or Investor Relations, Dave Dunnewald, +1-303-927-2334, or Jane Armstrong, +1-303-927-2394, all of Molson Coors Brewing Company Web Site: http://www.coors.com/
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