Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) has secured the Australian rights to a number of premium beer brands in a deal with international brewer, Molson Coors.
After mid-December, CCA will distribute Molson Coors brands, which include Carling, Coors Light, Caffrey’s and craft beer Blue Moon, in Australia as part of the long-term exclusive deal.
CCA, which bottles and distributes The Coca-Cola Company soft drinks and other beverages in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, gained the rights for Molson Coors brands in the Pacific region last year.
However, the company is barred from the Australian beer market until the end of 2013 as a condition of the 2011 sale of its 50 per cent stake in its Pacific Beverages joint venture with SAB Miller.
News of the deal came just ahead of the release of the company's first-half results, which saw CCA's net profits fall 12.3 per cent to $216 million for the six months to June 30.
CCA has pointed to a 10 per cent fall in Australian beverage earnings due to aggressive pricing in supermarkets by competitors.
"While the Australian non-grocery business continues to perform well, the trading conditions in the grocery channel continue to be challenging," said CCA's group managing director Terry Davis.
He also said the company was restructuring its SPC Ardmona fruit and vegetable processing business.
"A number of initiatives are being undertaken to improve the operating performance with a strong summer promotional and marketing program and a number of new product launches in the pipeline," Davis said.
