Molson Coors is heading to court next month with SABMiller over the cancelled agreement

The chief of Molson Coors' Canadian unit has insisted that the company is still doing "a good job” on Miller Brewing Co's (MBC) brands as the court case between the two looms.

MBC, the Canadian division of SABMiller, is attempting to sever an agreement that sees Molson Coors as the sales and marketing agent for Miller's brands in Canada. However, in June, Ontario's Superior Court granted a temporary injunction to Molson preventing MBC ending the deal.

Asked about the situation on a conference call yesterday (6 November), following Molson Coors' nine-month results, Stewart Glendenning, CEO of the group's Canada unit said: “We are continuing to support the brands and do a good job.”

Details of the fall-out first emerged in February, when MBC's Canada head said the unit was dumping the agreement in order to "grow Miller's brands in Canada".  

On a seperate additional call yesterday, David Dunnewald, Molson Coors' global investor relations VP, confirmed the case was heading back to court in December.  

Molson Coors and SABMiller operate the MillerCoors JV in the US. Speculation earlier this year suggested that SABMiller's move to end the Canada agreement could signal a renewed appetite for it to get a greater chunk of MillerCoors, as a year five-year lock-up period over the JV was also due to end.

MillerCoors yesterday reported a slight rise in nine-month net profits, as sales were flat.