Volume gains ahead for United Breweries, but investors should be cautious

While the September quarter could be another washout, there are some positive triggers which could lead to demand improvement

United Breweries has been one of the worst affected companies since the start of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. The lockdown and social distancing norms, higher taxes by some state governments and closure of bars led to a steep decline in beer volumes and revenues for the market leader. 

The poor operational performance and muted investor expectations led to the stock’s underperformance as compared to its mid-cap peers as well as the benchmark. While the Sensex and BSE 200 indices are each up 32 per cent over the last six months, United Breweries has barely budged gaining about 1.8 per cent