Earnings at brewer Molson Coors more than doubled in the second quarter, as raising prices and cutting costs helped offset a drop in the volume of beer sold.

Net income rose to $187.3 million US for the quarter ended June 28, 2009, up from $79.4 million a year ago.

Worldwide, beer volume decreased 3.2 per cent. The company blamed a weak global economy and poor weather in key markets for the drop.

"Positive pricing ... helped offset the impact of lower volume" CEO Peter Swinburn said of the company's results.

Among the company's many brands, Coors Light was a key performer, with volume growing by three per cent compared to the same period last year.

Volume in the company's Canadian operations was down by 2.9 per cent. Solid growth by the Rickard's brand in Canada offset a mid-single-digit rate dip by the company's flagship Molson Canadian brand versus the previous year.

The company's sales to retail consumers decreased 0.5 per cent even as Canadian beer industry volumes grew about 1.8 per cent, decreasing its total market share by 0.9 per cent.

"What I've seen since coming back to Canada is that boy, the weather sure seems to have deteriorated over the years," Dave Perkins, the new chief executive of Molson Canada, said in a conference call.

"It is a cold summer and I think that's the biggest factor that we're seeing in July (early in the third quarter). It's anybody's bet obviously how that plays out through the rest of the summer".

The underlying pretax income in Molson's Canadian business decreased 11 per cent to $137.3 million as the lower Canadian dollar reduced profits by $18 million. In Canadian dollars, income grew two per cent.

The brewer, which has been affected by deep discounting particularly in Quebec, plans to address value brands and boost its marketing to kickstart its Molson Canadian brand.

"In Canada, for the balance of 2009 we expect a challenging environment due to weak economic conditions and a continuation of consumers seeking value propositions," Swinburn said.

Molson Coors shares gained more than four per cent to trade at $47.25 on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday afternoon.

With files from The Canadian Press