United Spirits Q3 results: Net profit up 27% to Rs 291 crore

United Spirits on Tuesday reported a 26.7 per cent year-on-year rise in its net profit for October-December quarter at Rs 291 crore.
 
The company's revenue from operations grew 7.6 per cent to Rs 8,854.5 crore. The earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation(EBITDA) rose 27.9 per cent to Rs 491 crore, while EBITDA margin expanded 159 basis points (bps) to 17 per cent.
 
"Reported net sales increased 15.9 per cent, reflecting a strong quarter driven by resilient consumer demand in the offtrade channel, continued premiumisation and recovery of the on-trade channel. Underlying net sales increased 14.3 per cent, excluding the one-off sale of bulk scotch," the Diageo Group company said.
 
United Spirits said that the net sales of prestige and above segment grew 20 per cent, with strong double-digit growth in its scotch portfolio. Meanwhile, popular segment net sales declined 1.7 per cent, while priority states were flat.

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"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. Adjusting the one-off sale of bulk scotch, underlying gross margin was 44.3 per cent, down 31bps," it added.
 
Commenting on the results, the company's CEO Hina Nagarajan said that healthy operating cash flow has enabled it to reach debt free status as on December 31, 2021.
 
"External operating environment in the near-term will remain challenging, including potential impact from Covid-19 and rising cost inflation...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," Nagarajan added.
 
Shares of the company ended 2.37 per cent higher at Rs 876.05 on the BSE on Tuesday.

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