MONTREAL — Molson Coors Beverage Co. reported a fourth-quarter profit of US$163.7 million, up from US$76.0 million in the same quarter a year earlier.

The brewer, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says the profit amounted to 75 cents per share for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with a profit of 35 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Net sales totalled nearly US$2.49 billion, up from nearly US$2.42 billion.

The increase came as U.S. net sales rose 4.7 per cent compared with year ago, but fell 4.6 per cent in Canada. European net sales rose 1.1 per cent, while the international segment climbed 7.5 per cent.

Molson Coors says its underlying profit for the quarter amounted to US$221.5 million or US$1.02 per share compared with an underlying profit of US$182.3 million or 84 cents per share in the same period a year earlier.

Analysts on average had expected an adjusted profit of 78 cents per share, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.