United Spirits reports Rs 923 crore profit for second quarter

United Spirits reported Rs 923 crore net profit for second quarter of 2015-16 as against net loss of Rs 27 crore last year on standalone basis.

In a regulatory filing on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Monday, the country's largest liquor maker said total income, however, increased only marginally 4.3 per cent to Rs 2,151 crore for the quarter under review (Q2) from Rs 2,062 crore.

An exceptional income of Rs 799 crore from sales of its stake in United Breweries (UBL) during the quarter enabled the company to return to profit.

"Divestment of UBL shares generated Rs.870 crore of cash, which has enabled us to retire debt and reduced our net debt to less than Rs.4,000 crore from over Rs 5,000 crore six months ago," United Spirits chief executive Anand Kripalu said in a statement in Bengaluru.