India's United Spirits posts profit rise on strong consumer demand for premium alcohol

United Spirits

20/05/2025 15:14

BENGALURU, May 20 (Reuters) - India's United Spirits reported a rise in fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday, helped by strong demand for its premium alcohol brands and resumption of sales in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh in September after a five-year gap.

The Indian arm of spirits maker Diageo DGE.L reported a standalone profit of 4.51 billion rupees ($52.72 million) for the quarter ended March 31, up 17% from a year ago.

The company said the net sales value of premium category, which includes Johnnie Walker whiskey and Tanqueray gin, rose 13.2% year-on-year, while overall net sales growth was 10.5%.

For further results highlights, click (Full Story).

KEY CONTEXT

Analysts said that following a strong October to December period, demand for alcoholic beverages remained strong during the fourth quarter, led by the wedding season.

United Spirits has focused on more premium products in its portfolio in the past few quarters, which has shielded the company to an extent from India's inflation-led consumption slowdown.

Earlier this month, India's largest beer maker United Breweries UBBW.NS reported a rise in fourth quarter profit helped by lower costs, while its volume rose 5% driven by strong growth in the premium segment.

PEER COMPARISON

Valuation (next 12 months)
Estimates (next 12 months)
Analysts' sentiment
RIC
PE
EV/EBITDA
Price/Sales
Revenue growth
profit growth
Mean rating*
# of analysts
Stock to price target**
Div yield (%)
UNSP.NS
61.71
42.84
NULL
12.34
19.61
BUY
12
0.99
0.42
UBBW.NS
64.40
42.78
NULL
13.65
52.55
HOLD
12
1.00
0.49
RADC.NS
68.58
41.26
NULL
10.29
40.06
BUY
6
0.96
0.16
TILK.NS
37.47
23.82
NULL
14.93
-16.55
STRONG BUY
1
0.80
0.14


* The mean of analyst ratings standardised to a scale of Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell, and Strong Sell

** The ratio of the stock's last close to analysts' mean price target; a ratio above 1 means the stock is trading above the PT

JANUARY TO MARCH STOCK PERFORMANCE

--All data from LSEG

--$1 = 85.5490 Indian rupees

United Spirits https://tmsnrt.rs/45hRu7K

 (Reporting by Nishit Navin; Editing by Leroy Leo)

 ((Nishit.Navin@thomsonreuters.com;))