(Reuters) -Kingfisher beer maker United Breweries reported a decline in quarterly profit on Wednesday, hurt by higher excise duties and tepid demand.
The company, India’s largest beer maker, posted a 64.5% fall in profit to 469.5 million rupees ($5.3 million) for the quarter ended September 30, from a year ago.
United Breweries, which is majority-owned by Dutch brewer Heineken, posted a 21.2% drop in revenue, as volumes were hit due to unfavourable weather.
Revenue from operations fell to 37.36 billion rupees from 47.42 billion rupees a year ago. Total expenses dropped 19.5% from last year.
For further earnings highlights, click here (Full Story)
KEY CONTEXT
Demand for beer was hit by a stronger-than-usual monsoon season and higher excise duties in key states such as Karnataka.
United Breweries’ total volume declined 3.4% during the reported quarter; however, the premium segment’s volumes grew 17%.
“We remain optimistic about the industry’s long-term growth potential, driven by increasing disposable income, favorable demographics and premiumization,” the beer maker said.
Spirits maker Radico Khaitan reported a surge in second-quarter profit earlier in the day. United Spirits and Tilaknagar Industries are yet to report their earnings.
PEER COMPARISON
Valuation (next 12 Estimates Analysts
months) (next 12 ‘
months) sentimen
t
RIC PE EV/EBI Price/ Revenue Profit Mean No. of Stock to Div
TDA Sales growth (%) growth rating* analyst price yield
(%) s target** (%)
United Breweries Ltd UBBW.NS 63.97 38.28 NULL 12.99 36.29 HOLD 11 0.91 0.55
United Spirits Ltd UNSP.NS 53.49 37.20 NULL -27.94 11.67 BUY 10 0.87 0.89
Radico Khaitan Ltd RADC.NS 70.77 44.21 NULL 18.15 43.33 BUY 9 1.01 0.13
Tilaknagar Industries Ltd TILK.NS 44.46 34.22 NULL NULL 2.85 STRONG 1 0.87 0.20
BUY
* The mean of analysts’ 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
JULY-SEPTEMBER STOCK PERFORMANCE
— All data from LSEG
($1 = 87.8950 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Komal Salecha and Vijay Malkar in Bengaluru)
