Radico Khaitan net declines 32% to Rs 50 cr in Q4; sales up by 9.4%

Liquor maker Radico Khaitan Ltd on Monday reported a 31.79 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit to Rs 50.15 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2022 on account of continued commodity inflation.

The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 73.53 crore in the January-March quarter a year ago, Radico Khaitan said in a BSE filing.

However, its revenue from operations was up 9.43 per cent to Rs 3,224.45 crore during the quarter under review as against Rs 2,946.43 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

"Gross Margin during the quarter was 42.7%. Continued commodity inflation had a strong bearing on our gross margins, particularly in the non-IMFL business. Given a favourable product mix change, the impact of cost-push on the gross margin of the IMFL business was mitigated to a large extent," the company said in its earning statement.

Radico Khaitan's total expenses were at Rs 3,163.50 crore, up 10.46 per cent in Q4/FY 2021-22, as against Rs 2,863.89 crore.

"The increase in other expenses is due to higher power & fuel cost and other production-related overheads. The base quarter was also impacted by the second wave COVID-19," it said.

Its sales volume of total Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) was up 16.3 per cent during the quarter to 7.29 million cases.

Commenting on the results, Radico Khaitan Chairman and Managing Director Lalit Khaitan said:? ?Radico Khaitan has delivered a double-digit IMFL volume growth during the year driven by the strong performance of Prestige & Above category. This demonstrates the strength of our brands, consumer resonance and resilient business model. During the year, we have outperformed the industry in 7 out of our top 11 markets."

The company has continued to strengthen its core brands through focused marketing investments and also launched select new brands in the premium category, he added.

For the fiscal year ended March 2022, Radico Khaitan's net profit was down 5.02 per cent at Rs 263.22 crore. It had reported a net profit of Rs 277.15 crore in the previous fiscal.

Its revenue from operations was at Rs 12,470.50 crore in 2021-22. This is 18.72 per cent higher than Rs 10,504.04 crore in the year-ago period.

Over the outlook, Khaitan said: "In the near term, the input cost scenario is expected to remain volatile. However, we are confident of the medium to long term prospects of the Indian alcobev industry and remain focused on delivering long term sustainable value to all our stakeholders."

Shares of Radio Khaitan Ltd settled at Rs 815.55 on BSE, down 0.01 per cent from the previous close.