Liquor major United Spirits (USL) today reported an over three-fold jump in its standalone net profit at ₹ 147.70 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2017 on the back of lower finance costs and exceptional expense in the corresponding period last year.
The company had reported a net profit of ₹ 37. 23 crore for the October-December period of the previous fiscal.
Total income from operations grew 6.16 per cent to ₹ 7,082.22 crore during the quarter under review as against ₹ 6,670.72 crore the same period a year ago, United Spirits said in a regulatory filing.
During the quarter, USL’s finance cost stood at ₹ 92.23 crore as against ₹ 107.66 crore earlier.
The company had reported exceptional expense of ₹ 42.12 crore in the third quarter of fiscal 2015—16.
“We have delivered a strong net sales growth of 6 per cent despite the subdued economic environment in the third quarter due to de-monetisation... we have been able to manage through this period better than our initial expectations,” USL CEO Anand Kripalu said.
This growth was underpinned by the firm’s continued focus on increased investments in its power brands, he added.
“In line with our strategy to selectively participate in the popular segment we have entered into agreements to franchise selected popular brands in Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Goa, Andaman and Nicobar and Kerala effective from January.
“These changes were made to further improve our operating model and focus our business on the biggest growth opportunities.
“Continued focus on price increases in select states and productivity initiatives helped us to offset inflation and led to 152 basis points improvement in gross margin,” he said.
Kripalu said that the regulatory environment in certain states has led to challenges.
“Tax and excise changes in Maharashtra, West Bengal and Telangana have led to sharp consumer price increases and the route to market changes in Punjab continues to impact performance.