Molson Coors 3Q Profit Surges

DENVER (AP) — Molson Coors Brewing Co.'s third-quarter profit surged, absent hefty impairment charges that weighed down the prior-year period.

The beer maker earned $202.5 million, or 94 cents per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30. A year earlier the Denver-based company earned $16.6 million, or 9 cents per share.

The year-ago period included $275 million in impairment charges.

For the current quarter, earnings, adjusted for one-time costs, were $1.03 per share. That's a penny better than what analysts polled by FactSet expected.

Molson Coors recently closed on its $12 billion purchase of SABMiller's stake in MillerCoors, giving it full control of the company. Molson Coors operates in the U.S. through MillerCoors. It sells Coors Light, Blue Moon and other beers in South America, Europe, Asia and parts of North America.

Revenue declined to $947.6 million from $1.02 billion.