United Spirits Posts Strong Profit Growth, Beats Estimates For March Quarter

United Spirits Ltd., seller of McDowell’s, reported a 17% rise in consolidated net profit for the March quarter to ₹4.5 billion, well above analyst estimates of ₹3.2 billion. Revenue from operations grew 2.4% year on year to ₹65.5 billion but fell 15% sequentially.

The company’s gross profit rose 13% to ₹13.1 billion, supported by pricing realisation and cost productivity initiatives, despite inflation in extra neutral alcohol (ENA). EBITDA jumped 40% to ₹5.1 billion, with the margin expanding 358 basis points to 17.1%.

Excise duties, forming nearly 59% of expenses, dropped 3.4% to ₹36 billion.
Volume sales increased 7% to 16.7 million cases, driven by growth in the Prestige and Above segment, which saw a 9% volume rise and accounted for 87.7% of net underlying sales. The Popular segment’s volume declined 2.2%. Net sales value in the Prestige and

Above segment grew 13.2%, outperforming the Popular segment’s 1.1% growth.

Total expenses showed mixed trends — material costs rose 3% to ₹14 billion, stock-in-trade purchases increased 19% to ₹1.9 billion, while advertising and sales promotion costs dropped nearly 3% to ₹3.2 billion. Interest costs fell 24% to ₹220 million.

For the full year 2024-25, United Spirits posted a 19% rise in net profit to ₹15.6 billion and a 5.5% increase in revenue to ₹267.8 billion. The company sold 63.9 million cases of liquor, up from 61.4 million the previous year. A one-time loss of ₹650 million was recorded due to its ongoing supply agility programme.

The board recommended a final dividend of ₹8 per share for 2024-25, payable after shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting on August 29. The record date is August 1.