Monster Beverage Corporation will report its full-year and fourth-quarter results tomorrow (27 February). Here, just-drinks takes a look at the highs and lows for the company in the three months to the end of December and its performance in recent quarters.
- It was a tough Q4 for Monster as it bore much of the brunt of media and government scrutiny over the effects energy drinks have on consumers, especially young people. In Q3, the company faced a probe from a US state attorney general, with an analyst later suggesting this could open the door for other lawsuits.
- It was perhaps little surprise, then, when in October Monster was revealed to have been cited in the deaths of five people in the US since 2007. The Federal Drug Administration made it clear, however, that while the deaths were “associated” with Monster products, there was “no causal link” between the fatalities and the drinks. Monster also came out in defence of its brands.
- In November, Monster got back to the business of selling energy drinks, announcing a distribution tie-up with Carlsberg in the UK.
- Buyback schemes are all the rage at the moment. Whether they work or not is discussed here. Monster thinks they do – on 14 November it authorised a US$250m buyback of the group’s outstanding common stock.
- There was good news on the legal front in November when the FDA ruled there was no evidence to suggest taurine and guarana, two Monster brand ingredients, are dangerous. The ruling was a partial rejection of letters sent to the FDA by senators Dick Durbin and Richard Blumenthal asking it to review the effects of taurine and guarana.
- In December, Monster announced a partnership with massive Brazilian beverage firm AmBev. Monster said it expects to extend the agreement to include Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, and the Dominican Republic.