United Breweries Q3: Firm posts profit at Rs 85 crore against a loss last year

United Breweries on February 8 reported consolidated net profit at Rs 85.34 crore for the December quarter of FY24 against a loss of Rs 1.97 crore in the same quarter of the previous financial year.

Total revenue of the company is Rs 4,154.98 crore, increasing 12.28 percent from Rs 3,700.49 crore in the year-ago quarter, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The company said its volume in Q3 grew 8 percent predominantly driven by South and East regions and was partially offset by North. The premium segment grew by 14 percent.

“Within the (premium) segment, we see strong double digit growth for Kingfisher Ultra Max and we continue to drive premium volume growth,” said the company in a release.

Gross profit margin of the company on a year-to-date basis was lower as compared to previous year (-142 basis points) albeit in Q3 an improvement of 215 basis points was seen .

"We continue to invest behind our brands to drive topline growth and further improve margins by revenue management and cost initiatives," the company said.

Investments in capex during the first 9 months of the year were Rs 134 crore, primarily in supply chain initiatives to cater for future growth. Despite some inflationary softening as seen from Q2, volatility will remain, the company said.

"We remain optimistic about the long-term growth potential of the industry, driven by increasing disposable income, favorable demographics and premiumisation," it added.

The Board of Directors appointed Anand Kripalu as Chairman of the Board of the Company with immediate effect. Kripalu is currently a Non-Executive Independent Director & Chairperson of Stakeholders Relationship/ Share Transfer Committee and Member of the Audit Committee of the Company.

Anand is presently MD & Global CEO of Blackstone backed EPL Limited (formerly Essel Propack Ltd). Till recently, he was MD & CEO of United Spirits Ltd (Diageo India) and a member of Diageo’s Global Executive.

Earlier, he was President, India and South East Asia at Mondelez International, President Asia and MD of Cadbury India, and a member of Cadbury’s global leadership team. Prior to that he worked at Unilever for 22 years.