United Breweries up 5% on cost optimisation bid to offset West Asia impact

Amid the ongoing West Asia linked supply issues the company has initiated pricing interventions and operating cost optimisation measures to mitigate operational pressures.

United Breweries Ltd.'s share price gained 5.11 per cent intraday on Tuesday, a day after the company released its first-ever integrated annual report. 

 

The report outlines the company's performance across financial year 2026. The brewer's operating costs in FY2025-26 went up to ₹7,948.07 crore from  ₹7,616.87 crorein FY25. Meanwhile, revenue for the same time frame shrank to ₹17,500.84 crore from ₹19,436.50. 

 

In the report, the company said it remains optimistic about the long-term growth prospects of the beer category in India, supported by improving regulatory developments and a recovery in category growth during Q4 FY 2025-26. 

 

"However, ongoing geopolitical disruptions in the Middle East have led to supply chain challenges, inflationary pressures, and higher raw material, packaging, transportation, and operating costs, which are expected to impact the next few quarters," it added.

 

 

To mitigate these pressures, the company has initiated pricing interventions, operating cost optimisation measures, and structural productivity initiatives while continuing engagement with regulators.

 

"The operating environment continues to remain complex and evolving," it said, adding that during the year, supply-side disruptions, including can shortages, partly due to regulatory changes and more recently due to middle east related geopolitical tensions which have impacted global energy markets, logistics networks, and supply chains, have led to elevated input costs and increased uncertainty across manufacturing ecosystems.

 

United Breweries share price

 

United Breweries' share price gained 5.11 per cent intraday to ₹1,419.90. As of 12:54 PM the stock was up 3.95 per cent at ₹1,403.40.

 

United Breweries has outperformed the Nifty FMCG index over the past one week and one month, gaining 4.20 per cent and 4.72 per cent, respectively, compared with returns of 0.64 per cent and a 1.46 per cent decline for the sectoral index.

 

Over a longer period, however, the stock has lagged. United Breweries has fallen 12.61 per cent year-to-date and 30.46 per cent over the past one year, compared with declines of 9.09 per cent and 13.14 per cent, respectively, for the Nifty FMCG index. While its three-year return dipped 7.65 per cent is marginally better than the index's decline of 9.06 per cent, the stock has remained largely flat over the past five years with a 0.45 per cent decline, underperforming the Nifty FMCG index, which has gained 34.79 per cent during the same period.

 

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