By Granth Vanaik

April 30 (Reuters) - Molson Coors ( TAP/A ) surpassed Wall

Street estimates for first-quarter sales and profit on Tuesday,

helped by higher prices and steady demand for brands such as

Coors Light and Miller Lite.

However, the company took a more cautious stance on the

industry outlook and reaffirmed its full-year sales and profit

forecasts, sending its shares down 7.6%.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

Beer makers such as Molson Coors ( TAP/A ) and peer Constellation

Brands ( STZ ) have been consistently hiking prices to protect

their margin from rising costs of production, even as some of

those expenses are beginning to drop from

CONTEXT

Consumers have been willing to stretch their budgets a

little more to purchase Molson's products given that beers are

generally considered as recession-proof.

In February, the company said it was expecting to gain more

shelf space at retailers going in to the spring.

MARKET REACTION

Shares dropped as much as 8.2% to $58.30 on Tuesday, hitting

an over five-month low.

KEY QUOTES

"We believe commentary on depletion trends in April and Q2

will be key in driving the stock reaction, given the recent

slowdown in scanner data with volumes down mid-single digit

percentage in the last few weeks," said Citi Research analyst

Filippo Falorni.

"Molson Coors ( TAP/A ) appears to be losing some market share in

April," wrote Roth MKM analyst Bill Kirk in a note.

BY THE NUMBERS

Its net sales for the quarter was about $2.60 billion, ahead

of analysts' average estimate of $2.50 billion, according to

LSEG data.

The company posted an adjusted profit of 95 cents per share,

beating expectations of 74 cents.

Brand volumes in the Americas segment increased 5.3% in the

first quarter, including a 5.8% increase in the U.S.