Inland beverage company post solid quarter

Monster Beverages Corp., one of the largest publicly traded companies in the Inland Empire, posted solid earnings during its third quarter.

The Corona-based maker of energy drinks reported earnings of $92.2 million for the quarter that ended Sept. 30, according to a statement published on the company’s website.

That marked a seven percent increase compared with the same quarter in 2012, when Monster Beverages posted earnings of $86 million.

This year’s earnings worked out to 53 cents per share, compared with 47 cents per share during last year’s third quarter, according to the statement.

Total sales rose nearly nine percent, to $590.4 million, up from $542 million year-to-year, according to the statement.

While Monster Beverages continues to outgrow other makers of energy drinks, it did suffer some setbacks during its third quarter. The company was forced to spend $6.5 million on “professional services” during the quarter, most of which stemmed from regulatory issues and questions regarding the safety of Monster Beverages’ products.

Rodney C. Sacks, chairman and chief executive officer, repeated his claim that Monster Beverages are safe, and that the company plans to continue expanding into international markets.

“More than 50 billion cans of energy drinks have been sold and safely consumed worldwide over the past 25 years, including nearly 10 million Monster Energy brand energy drinks over the past 11 years,” Sacks said in the statement.

During the first nine months of 2013, Monster Beverages’ gross sales increased 7.5 percent, to $1.97 billion, while its net sales increased 7.3 percent, to $1.7 billion, according to the statement.