United Spirits Q1 hit by Covid-19, analysts sceptical about early recovery

Management believes worst is behind, but analysts say recovery will be tough

The knock-on effect of the Covid-19-triggered lockdown was visible in United Spirits’ June 2020 quarter (Q1) numbers, which were announced on Monday after market hours. Although the management believes the worst is behind, analysts say the pain is far from over.

A 53.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY) drop in net revenue to Rs 1,030.2 crore was better than consensus estimate of Rs 930 crore. However, the spirits major posted a loss before tax and exceptional items of Rs 181.8 crore, which was worse than the Street’s expectation of a Rs  81.3-crore loss. The company had reported a profit before tax of