Unaudited financial results for the quarter and nine months ended 31 December 2024

23 Jan 2025|Press release

Mocktail

Bengaluru, India – January 23, 2025: United Spirits Ltd., one of the leading beverage alcohol companies in India, reported its unaudited consolidated & standalone results for the quarter and nine months ended 31 December 2024.

Key Highlights for the quarter:

Consolidated

  • Net sales value (NSV) at INR 3,433 Cr.; EBITDA at INR 568 Cr.
  • NSV grew by 14.4% and EBITDA grew 16.9%.

Standalone

  • Net sales value (NSV) at INR 3,432 Cr., with Prestige & Above saliency of 89.2%.
  • Total NSV grew 14.8%, Prestige & Above NSV grew 16.1%.
  • EBITDA at INR 588 Cr., grew 19.8%, with EBITDA margin at 17.1%.

Ms. Hina Nagarajan, CEO & Managing Director, commenting on the Q3FY25 performance, said:

“Amidst a moderate but sequentially improving demand environment, we have delivered a quarter in line with our aspirations buoyed by the festive season and fast scale-up in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Looking ahead, we remain cautiously optimistic in the short-term while remaining committed to the long-term potential of the India consumer story.”

Q3FY25 performance highlights:

Consolidated:

  • Consolidated net sales at INR 3,433 Cr., up 14.4% year-on-year, broadly in-line with growth in the standalone business.
  • Consolidated EBITDA was at INR 568 Cr., growth of 16.9% year-on-year.
  • Q3FY25 consolidated profit after tax was at INR 335 Cr.

Standalone:

  • Net sales at INR 3,432 Cr. increased 14.8% year-on-year with Prestige & Above segment growing 16.1%. Growth was driven by resilient consumer demand in peak festive season and a fast scale-up in Andhra Pradesh.
  • Net sales for the Popular segment grew 9.6%. Value righting done a few quarters ago along with the duty reduction in the most salient state, provided the necessary growth tailwinds.
  • Gross margin was 44.7%, up 131 bps versus last year on the back of sustained revenue growth management interventions and productivity flow-through.
  • A&P re-investment rate was 11.0% of net sales, reflecting the seasonality of the peak consumption quarter and investment behind the brands and innovations.
  • EBITDA at INR 588 Cr., an increase of 19.8% year-on-year.
  • EBITDA margin was 17.1%, expansion of 71 bps versus last year.
  • Interest cost was at INR 20 Cr. and is on account of customary non-debt related expenses.
  • Profit after tax was INR 473 Cr. with a net profit margin of 13.8%.

9MFY25 performance highlights:

Consolidated:

  • 9MFY25 Consolidated net sales at INR 9,038 Cr., up 5.9% over prior year. This is in line with the growth of the standalone business partly off-set by the early start to IPL 2024.
  • 9MFY25 Consolidated EBITDA at INR 1,783 Cr., a growth of 7.0% over prior year.
  • 9MFY25 consolidated Profit after tax at INR 1,161 Cr.

Standalone:

  • Net sales at INR 8,627 Cr. increased 7.5% over prior year. Within this, Prestige & Above segment grew 8.8%. The growth is reflective of the strength of our broad-based portfolio with national reach and our ability to capitalise on opportunities that present themselves in the normal course of business.
  • Net sales for the Popular segment were up 0.6% versus prior year comparator on the back of a strong quarter.
  • Gross margin at 44.8%, up 134 bps versus last year, driven by healthy headline pricing flow-through, revenue growth management and COGS productivity initiatives.
  • A&P re-investment rate was 9.4% of net sales, reflecting the investment behind the brands and the innovations & renovations.
  • EBITDA at INR 1,553 Cr. is an increase of 15.3% over prior year comparator. EBITDA margin was 18.0%, up 122 bps versus last year. This is driven by gross margin expansion and productivity across the value chain.
  • 9MFY25 Interest cost is at INR 67 Cr. Excluding the one-off reversal benefit of INR 15 Cr. in Q1FY24, interest cost in 9MFY24 was at INR 62 Cr. Interest cost is on account of customary non-debt related expenses and the increase is on account of lease finance cost partly off-set by savings in other line items.
  • Exceptional charge of INR 65 Cr. in Q3FY25 is related to the multi-year supply agility program.
  • Profit after tax stands at INR 1,107 Cr. with a net profit margin of 12.8%.

About Diageo India

Diageo India is among India’s leading beverage alcohol (alcobev) companies with an outstanding portfolio of premium brands. A subsidiary of Diageo Plc., it is listed in India on both the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) as United Spirits Limited (USL).

Headquartered in Bengaluru, Diageo India has one of the largest manufacturing footprints in alcobev with 36 facilities across India. It manufactures, sells, and distributes Johnnie Walker, Black Dog, Black & White, VAT 69, Antiquity, Signature, The Singleton, Royal Challenge, McDowell’s No1, Smirnoff, Ketel One, Tanqueray, Captain Morgan and Godawan, an artisanal single malt whisky from India, bringing together global expertise and local pride to deliver innovative, world-class products and experiences to consumers. With a strong focus on driving a positive impact on society, Diageo India has been working on collective action to improve livelihoods, championing Grain to Glass sustainability, responsible consumption and nurturing the alcobev ecosystem, to contribute to India’s growth agenda.

For more information about Diageo India, our people, our brands, and our performance, visit us at www.diageoindia.com. Visit Diageo’s global responsible drinking resource, https://www.DRINKiQ.com, for information, initiatives, and ways to share best practices.

Celebrating life, every day, everywhere.

Cautionary statement concerning forward-looking statements.

This document contains ‘forward-looking’ statements. These statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate only to historical or current facts. In particular, forward-looking statements include all statements that express forecasts, expectations, plans, outlook and projections with respect to future matters, including trends in results of operations, margins, growth rates, overall market trends, the impact of changes in interest or exchange rates, the availability or cost of financing to United Spirits Limited (“USL”), anticipated cost savings or synergies, expected investments, the completion of USL’s strategic transactions and restructuring programmes, anticipated tax rates, expected cash payments, outcomes of litigation, anticipated deficit reductions in relation to pension schemes and general economic conditions. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward- looking statements, including factors that are outside USL’s control. USL neither intends, nor assumes any obligation, to update or revise these forward-looking statements in the light of any developments which may differ from those anticipated.

Investor enquiries to:

Shweta Arora

[email protected]

Media enquiries to:

Shefali Sapra

[email protected]


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Contacts

For more information, contact:

Investor enquiries to:

Shweta Arora
[email protected]

Media enquiries to:

Zarin Darashaw
[email protected]