United Spirits Q3FY26 results: Net profit rises 25% to ₹418 crore

Bengaluru-based United Spirits Limited (USL) reported a consolidated net profit of ₹418 crore in the third quarter ended December, up 24.8 per cent from ₹335 crore in the same quarter last year.

 

USL, a subsidiary of Diageo, saw revenue rise 7.6 per cent to ₹3,694 crore in Q3 FY26, while its PBIDT (profit before interest, depreciation and tax) was up 1.6 per cent to ₹650 crore.

 

Praveen Someshwar, chief executive officer and managing director, Diageo India, said, “We have delivered a resilient quarter overall while navigating policy headwinds in one of our most salient markets. Strong momentum in the rest of India and at the top end of our portfolio bodes well. We continue to make robust investments in our trademarks and execution capabilities to sustain long-term value for all our stakeholders.”

 

On a standalone basis, the company’s net sales value (NSV) for the quarter stood at ₹3,683 crore, up 7.3 per cent from a year ago, driven by performance in the top half of the portfolio, it said in its release. The growth was partly offset by the adverse, policy-led impact in Maharashtra and the base effect of a one-time retail pipeline fill in Andhra Pradesh in the corresponding quarter last year. 

 

Within the overall NSV growth, the prestige and above (P&A) segment grew 8.2 per cent, while NSV from the popular segment declined 4.6 per cent, largely due to the Maharashtra disruption.

 

EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) margin stood at 16.8 per cent, contracting 35 basis points year-on-year, primarily due to higher advertising and promotion (A&P) expenditure during the quarter.

 

In addition, as per a stock exchange filing, USL has made an additional investment in V9 Beverages Private Limited, which markets and sells the non-alcoholic spirit Sober. The company will subscribe to 1,762 compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) for a total consideration of ₹3.2 crore. Following this investment, United Spirits’ stake in Sober will increase to 25 per cent from 15 per cent on a fully diluted basis.

 

Moreover, standalone gross profit rose 12.6 per cent year-on-year, with gross margin expanding 219 basis points to 46.9 per cent. The margin improvement was supported by a favourable mix from premiumisation, ongoing productivity initiatives, and the flow-through of headline price increases taken in the previous year.

 

The company continued to step up brand investments during the quarter, with advertising and promotion spend at 14 per cent of net sales, reflecting targeted investments behind key trademarks and faster growth of the higher-end portfolio. 

 

Interest cost declined 5 per cent year-on-year to ₹19 crore. Net profit margin improved to 14.4 per cent in the quarter.

 

USL declared its results on Tuesday after market hours. Ahead of the results, its shares closed down 0.64 per cent at ₹1,316.30 apiece on the NSE.