 "United Spirits")
Diageo-controlled liquor maker United Spirits Ltd on Friday reported a four-fold jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 203.3 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2021, helped by double-digit growth in sales.
The company had posted a net profit of Rs 49.3 crore in the January-March period a year ago, United Spirits Ltd (USL) said in a regulatory filing.
Its revenue from operations was up 19.62 per cent to Rs 7,678.1 crore as against Rs 6,419 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.
Diageo India outgoing MD and CEO Anand Kripalu said, "The growth momentum has returned, and our Q4 performance was strong on both topline and EBITDA. While overall net sales grew 11.6 per cent in Q4, strong Scotch performance contributed to the double-digit growth of 25.8 per cent in Prestige & Above segment."
It has continued "sequential momentum, good sales mix and steady margin and cash generation", USL said.
Net sales increased driven by continued off-trade momentum and weaker comparatives, offset by contraction of owned business in Andhra Pradesh and softer footfalls in the on-trade channel, it said.
Also Read
Total expenses rose 17.17 per cent to Rs 7,392.2 crore in Q4 FY 2020-21 as against Rs 6,309 crore earlier.
However, for the fiscal year 2020-21, USL's net profit was down 41.7 per cent to Rs 362.1 crore from Rs 620.6 crore in the previous year.
Revenue from operations slipped 4.88 per cent to Rs 27,418.5 crore. It stood at Rs 28,823.7 crore in FY 2019-20.
"Despite a challenging start to FY21 in Q1, our business withstood the disruption and showed progressive improvement thereafter with every passing quarter. We demonstrated agility and resilience in our performance across the value chain," said Kripalu.
Moreover, USL's recently announced strategic review of selected popular brands, which comprises around 30 labels, is progressing well and on track, he added.
The strategic review, which focuses on approximately half of this portfolio by volume, is expected to be completed by December 31, 2021.
On the outlook, USL said, "The Company continues to maintain a positive outlook for the next financial year and will continue to monitor changes in future economic conditions."
Shares of United Spirits Ltd settled at Rs 571.70 on BSE, down 0.10 per cent from the previous close.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
