India's United Breweries posts lower quarterly profit as rising costs offset higher sales

United Breweries

04/08/2026 17:01

Aug 4 (Reuters) - India's United Breweries UBBW.NS on Tuesday reported a fall in first-quarter profit, as high raw material costs and stiff competition eroded the benefits of seasonal demand.
The company, majority-owned by Heineken HEIN.AS, posted a profit of 1.66 billion rupees ($17.40 million) for the quarter ended June 30, down from 1.84 billion rupees a year earlier. 
"We expect inflationary pressures on our cost base to persist over the coming quarters amid an uncertain macroeconomic environment," CEO Vivek Gupta said.
While the April to June quarter is seasonally the strongest for Indian brewers, the muted results point to a challenging operating environment.
United Breweries saw elevated prices during the quarter for packaging materials, including glass and aluminum, due to the Middle East crisis.
The company's total expenses for the quarter climbed 11.7% from a year earlier to 57.43 billion rupees, lifted by a 6.4% rise in cost of materials consumed and a 13.4% rise in excise duty.
Revenue from operations rose 10% to 59.17 billion rupees, helped by price increases and a double-digit growth in the beer category.
     
($1 = 95.3775 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Urvi Dugar and Anuran Sadhu in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Ananda)
((UrviManoj.Dugar@thomsonreuters.com; +91 9558725583;))