USA: MillerCoors CEO to retire at the end of June

SABMiller PLC on February 10 said Tom Long, chief executive officer of MillerCoors, its US and Puerto Rican joint venture with Molson Coors Brewing Co, is set to retire at the end of June.

Long has been CEO of MillerCoors since 2011, having been president and chief commercial officer since the launch of the MillerCoors joint venture in 2008.

In a statement, SABMiller said that MillerCoors has already begun the search or a new CEO.

"The board will take the time necessary to conduct a thoughtful, disciplined and collaborative process aimed at selecting the best available talent to lead MillerCoors through its next phase of growth and development," said MillerCoors Deputy Chairman and SABMiller CEO, Alan Clark in the statement.

In a separate statement, SABMiller reported that MillerCoors' underlying net income grew 2.9% for the full year 2014, while fourth quarter underlying net income decreased 11.8% to USD213.3 million, which it said was mainly due to lower shipment volume, unrealised losses on commodity hedges and higher marketing investment.

"Fourth quarter sales to retailer volume continued to improve, with Miller Lite returning to growth. Increased profitability for the year was driven by positive pricing, sales mix and cost savings," the company said.

11 February, 2015