Comments
Bengaluru, January 25
The country’s largest liquor maker, United Spirits reported a 26.62 per cent increase in net profit to ₹291.1 crore for the third quarter of the current financial year on the back of strong consumer demand in the off-trade channel and recovery in the on-trade channel.
Net sales in the three-month period increased 15.9 per cent to ₹2,885 crore on a year on year basis. Its revenue from operations rose 7.64 per cent to ₹8,854.5 crore during the same period.
The company also said because of healthy operating cash flow, it is now completely debt-free. Crisil upgraded its rating on United Spirits Limited’s long-term bank facilities to ‘AAA / Stable’ while reaffirming its ‘A1+’ rating on short-term bank facilities.
“We have delivered a strong quarter, continuing the growth momentum amidst rising inflation. The broad-based growth in the Prestige & Above segment demonstrates the strength of our portfolio and the continued agility and resilience of the team,” United Spirits’ CEO Hina Nagarajan said in a statement on Tuesday.
Underlying net sales increased 14.3 per cent, excluding the one-off sale of bulk scotch while Prestige & Above segment net sales grew 20 per cent with strong double-digit growth in the company’s Scotch portfolio.
The liquor maker’s Popular segment net sales declined 1.7 per cent, while priority states were flat. The gross margin was 44.1 per cent, down 49bps on a reported basis, driven by input cost inflation, partially offset by favourable product mix and productivity savings.
The reported EBITDA was ₹491 crore, up 27.9 per cent while the reported EBITDA margin was 17 per cent up 159 bps, primarily driven by operating leverage on fixed costs. Underlying interest was Rs 16 crore, down 56.8 per cent driven by reduced debt and lower interest rates.
Nagarajan said the external operating environment in the near term will remain challenging, including the potential impact from Covid-19 and rising cost inflation. “We continue to work with agility and remain focused on strengthening our portfolio while driving productivity across the value chain. We remain confident in the market potential and continue to stay focused on our strategic priorities to drive long-term value creation for all our stakeholders,” she said.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.