Bengaluru, India – January 23, 2024: United Spirits Ltd., one of the leading beverage alcohol companies in India, reported its unaudited consolidated & standalone results for the quarter and nine months ended 31 December 2023.
Key Highlights for the quarter:
Consolidated
• Net sales value (NSV) at INR3,002 Cr.; EBITDA at INR487 Cr.
• NSV grew by 8.0% and EBITDA grew 30.8%
Standalone
• Net sales value (NSV) at INR2,989 Cr., with Prestige & Above saliency of 88%
• Total NSV grew 7.5%, Prestige & Above NSV grew 10.0%
• EBITDA at INR491 Cr., grew 33.6%, with EBITDA margin at 16.4%
Ms. Hina Nagarajan, CEO & Managing Director, commenting on the Q3FY24 performance, said:
“We have delivered a resilient quarter in a challenging macro environment. While the sequential demand momentum was relatively muted, reassuringly, the premiumisation trend continues.
Our consumer engagement remained high with a slew of festivals, the cricket world cup and peak wedding season. The focus on continuous improvement and value chain productivity is reflected in the performance.
Looking ahead, we remain cautiously optimistic on growth on the back of sustained investments in our brands, belief in our innovation and renovation pipeline and the long-term India consumer potential.”
(The scheme for the Pioneer Distilleries Limited (PDL) merger came into operation on 30th Dec’ 2022 but is effective 1st April’2021. All current & previous period comparators include the impact of the merger. All accounts referred as ‘Rebased’ are Reinstated for PDL merger as well as adjusted for slump sale and franchising of the strategically reviewed popular portfolio for a like for like comparison.)
Q3FY24 performance highlights:
Consolidated:
• Consolidated net sales at INR3,002 Cr., up 8.0% y-o-y, in-line with growth in the standalone business.
• Consolidated EBITDA was at INR487 Cr., growth of 30.8% y-o-y.
• Q3FY24 consolidated profit after tax was at INR350 Cr.
Standalone:
• Net sales at INR2,989 Cr. increased 7.5% year-on-year driven by continued premiumisation, and resilient consumer demand. Within the above, Prestige & Above segment grew 10.0%.
• Net sales for the Popular segment declined 12.4%, primarily due to muted demand. Duty increases in the segment’s salient state further impacted demand adversely.
• Gross margin was 43.4%, up 286 bps versus last year, however, flat sequentially versus the last trailing quarter.
• A&P re-investment rate was 11% of sales, reflecting the seasonality and investment behind the brands during the festive quarter as well as in the cricket world cup.
• EBITDA at INR491 Cr., an increase of 33.6% year-on-year. The EBITDA margin was 16.4%, up 321 bps versus prior year.
• Interest cost at INR16 Cr., is down 32.5%, due to savings on retirement of debt of PDL post-merger and other operational efficiencies.
• Profit after tax was INR348 Cr. with a net profit margin of 11.6%.
(The scheme for the Pioneer Distilleries Limited (PDL) merger came into operation on 30th Dec’ 2022 but is effective 1st April’2021. All current & previous period comparators include the impact of the merger. All accounts referred as ‘Rebased’ are Reinstated for PDL merger as well as adjusted for slump sale and franchising of the strategically reviewed popular portfolio for a like for like comparison.)
9MFY24 performance highlights:
Consolidated:
• 9MFY24 Consolidated net sales was at INR8,537 Cr., up 15.2% on rebased prior year comparators. This was led by the robust growth in the standalone business and new five-year media rights cycle (2023-27) for the Indian Premier League starting from Q1FY24.
• 9MFY24 Consolidated EBITDA was at INR1,667 Cr., a growth of 56.2% on rebased prior year
comparators.
• 9MFY24 consolidated Profit after tax was at INR1,166 Cr.
Standalone:
• Net sales at INR8,026 Cr. increased 11.7% on rebased prior year comparators driven by continued premiumisation as well as competitive performance of our innovation and renovation offerings. Within the above, Prestige & Above segment grew 13.8%.
• Net sales for the Popular segment declined 4.6% on rebased prior year comparator, weighed by inflation impacting the target consumer & duty increases in the segment’s salient state.
• Gross margin was 43.5%, up 245 bps versus last year, driven by healthy headline pricing flow-thru, revenue growth management and COGS productivity initiatives.
• A&P re-investment rate was 8.9% of sales, largely reflecting the ramped-up investment behind the brands and the cricket world cup in the July – December period.
• EBITDA at INR1,347 Cr. is an increase of 39.3% over rebased prior year comparator. The underlying EBITDA margin was 16.6%, up 280 bps versus last year. This was largely driven by gross margin expansion and productivity across the value chain.
• 9MFY24 Interest cost at INR47 Cr. is down 30.9% versus same period prior year. Excluding the one-off reversal benefit of INR15 Cr. in Q1FY24, interest cost was INR62 Cr., up 8.5% against prior year. Interest cost, in the current financial year, is on account of customary non-debt related expenses.
• Exceptional gain of INR14 Cr. is on account of INR31 Cr. Income from the slump sale recognised as exceptional in Q2FY24 after completion of customary post-transaction closure obligations partially offset by a charge of INR17 Cr. related to the supply agility programme in Q1FY24.
• Profit after tax was INR928 Cr. with a net profit margin of 11.6%.
