United Spirits posts Q4 net loss at Rs 104 cr

Liquor major United Spirits (USL) today reported a standalone net loss of Rs 104.2 crore for the fourth quarter ended March, mainly on account of higher expenses and impact of exceptional items.
The Diageo-controlled firm had posted a net profit of Rs 1.4 crore during the same period of previous fiscal, United Spirits said in a BSE filing.
Net sales during the quarter under review stood at Rs 6,474.2 crore as against Rs 5,930.9 crore in the year-ago period, up 9.16 per cent.
Commenting on the results, United Spirits CEO Anand Kripalu said: "We have delivered a strong set of results with 4 per cent net sales growth, despite a subdued economic environment due to demonetisation as well as the run up to the highway ban."

The company said during the quarter, it had earmarked a provision of Rs 20 crore for transfer of raw material stocks and finished good outside Bihar besides retrenchment cost following ban of liquor in the state, while for the entire fiscal it was Rs 37.7 crore.
For the fiscal ended March 31, 2017, USL reported a net profit of Rs 169.9 crore as compared to Rs 121.9 crore in the 2015-16 fiscal, up 39 per cent.

Net sales for the year stood at Rs 25,354.2 crore as against Rs 23,384.6 crore during the previous fiscal.
The company said it also took a Rs 264.5 crore hit for the entire fiscal on account of settlement agreement with ten parties as on March 31, 2017 over improper transactions which were found in an enquiry.

Shares of United Spirits closed 3.63 per cent up at Rs 2,089.85 on BSE.