Molson CEO to focus on costs, agility

By Martinne Geller

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Molson Coors Brewing Co (TAP.N) will work to cut costs and lure consumers with promotional packages during the rest of this year, as forecasting sales trends remains difficult, its chief executive said.

The maker of Coors Light and Molson Canadian beers does not give earnings forecasts, and in an interview on Tuesday, Chief Executive Peter Swinburn said it is hard to guess what will happen with overall volumes for the rest of the year.

"At the moment there doesn't seem to be any reason to have undue concern about the second half, but you see the unemployment figures," Swinburn said. "You see what's happening in the economy."

Swinburn said Molson is working to be "more agile" in terms of offering promotional or value packages, as recession-weary consumers look for deals. He did not discuss specific prices.

The company is maintaining its "cautious stance" and is focused on controlling costs, Swinburn said.

Based on current exchange rates, Molson expects foreign exchange translation to hurt earnings slightly in the current third quarter and help earnings in the fourth quarter, Swinburn said.

Molson reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings earlier this month.

Molson Coors shares were up 7 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $45.79 in early afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Martinne Geller; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)