United Breweries advances after strong Q3 result

United Breweries gained 2.72% to Rs 809.55 at 12:16 IST on BSE after net profit surged 65.6% to Rs 55.51 crore on 13.68% increase in total income to Rs 956.8 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012.

The Q3 result was announced after market hours on Wednesday, 12 February 2014.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was down 119.16 points, or 0.58%, to 20,329.33

On BSE, so far 43,266 shares were traded in the counter, compared with an average volume of 70,317 shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 821.50 and a low of Rs 800.45 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 1,005 on 28 October 2013. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 580.65 on 14 February 2013.

 

The stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 12 February 2014, rising 0.97% compared with the Sensex's 1.49% fall. The scrip had also outperformed the market in past one quarter, gaining 5.06% as against Sensex's 0.82% rise.

The large-cap company has an equity capital of Rs 26.44 crore. Face value per share is Re 1.

United Breweries said in a press release that the industry showed a modest growth again in the third quarter, which resulted in a stable overall figure for the nine month period ending December 2013. The Maharashtra market sentiment remained negative on account of higher end consumer prices. Tamil Nadu continues to suffer from unfavorable ordering pattern of TASMAC.

The company posted good volume growth in key markets resulting in growth of revenue and profit. Double digit volume growth is witnessed in Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, United Breweries said.

During the first nine months the company has increased its market share by 40 basis points and is in the region of 51% despite the degrowth in Tamil Nadu. It has increased its market share in key markets at a time when pressure from competition has been at its peak, and inspite of the difficult times the industry has been going through, the company said.

The current quarter shows a growth in United Breweries' volumes of over 4% as against an Industry growth of less than 1%. With volumes also growing in key profitable markets and a continuing strict control on costs, profitability levels have strongly improved compared to previous and last year's comparable quarter.

Reversal of the Maharashtra State Government policy on the use of second hand bottles in October 2013 helped the company to control input costs and improve profitability in this key State, the company said in a statement.

United Breweries is the flagship company of UB Group. With its flagship brand Kingfisher, the company is market leader in beers in India.

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