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The buy-in of stock prior to a price increase has helped Monster Beverage Corp enjoy another bumper quarter, although the final three months of 2018 could see the company's rate of growth slow.
Sales for the energy drinks group in the three months to the end of September increased by 13% year-on-year, breaking US$1bn for the second consecutive quarter. However, Monster, which is part-owned by The Coca-Cola Co, noted that the performance was assisted by "advance purchases made by our customers due to a pre-announced price increase".
The rise, which affects some variants in the Monster Energy range, kicked in on 1 November.
Monster Beverage Corp 2018 - Sales versus 2017
| 2017 | 2018 | |
| Fourth Quarter | 810.4 | null |
| Third Quarter | 909.5 | 1016.2 |
| Second Quarter | 907.1 | 1015.9 |
| First Quarter | 742.1 | 850.9 |
Source: Company results
While the Monster Energy roster did well, the group's 'Strategic Brands' portfolio, which includes Coca-Cola Co energy brands that Monster took on as part of the latter's stake purchase, saw its sales slip by almost 3% in the three months.
CEO Rodney Sacks
"We continue to make progress in our strategic alignment with Coca-Cola system bottlers and have now fully transitioned Monster Energy from our former Anheuser-Busch distributors to Coca-Cola bottlers in the US.
"We have expanded the distribution of Monster Energy to 40 of the largest cities in India. Our products are now distributed in 75% of the country, and we anticipate national distribution by 2018 year-end.
"Monster Energy was launched in Ecuador and Ukraine in the third quarter and we are planning further international launches later this year and in 2019. Mutant energy, one of our affordable energy brands, was launched in Myanmar and Vietnam in the third quarter. We recently launched Predator, our strategically-preferred affordable energy brand, in South Africa and are planning launches of Predator in selected additional markets in Eastern Europe and Africa."
To read Monster Beverage Corp's official third-quarter results announcement, click here.
Sectors: Company results, Soft drinks, Water
Companies: The Coca-Cola Company
