UNITED SPIRITS
The alcohol market of India is the third-largest market in terms of sales which is over US$35 billion. The share of alcohol imported in India is around 0.8% due to heavy duties which lead to a rise in prices. Also, majority of the sale of alcohol is in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. The onset of COVID-19 and the resultant national lockdown towards the end of the fiscal year further exacerbated the situation.
United spirits is a subsidiary company of Diaego – the country’s leading beverage alcohol company with an outstanding collection of premium brands. The company have some premium known brands under it such as s portfolio includes premium brands such as Johnnie Walker, Black Dog, Black & White, Vat 69, Antiquity, Signature, Singelton, Royal Challenge, McDowell’s No 1, Smirnoff, Ketel One, Tanqueray and Captain Morgan. The company have 50 manufacturing facilities across states and union territories in India, a strong distribution network and a state-of-the-art Technical Centre.
The company has 11 brands in its portfolio out of which 2 brands are most selling, and the company’s exports are also on the increasing side. With high brand equity and significant market share, the company can have a significant influence on industry issues through representations made on behalf of the industry.
The company has outperformed during the pandemic in terms of social responsibility, within less than a week of the lockdown being announced, United Spirits repurposed 15 of their manufacturing units to produce ~300,000 litres of hand sanitiser and donated to State Governments and Public health departments. They also donated 150,000 masks to support frontline public healthcare workers. They supported the hospitality industry by providing healthcare insurance for Bartenders associated with Diageo World Class. Moreover, their employees too came forward, to voluntarily contribute ₹40 lakh to the PM Cares Fund.
The Board of Directors has not recommended any dividend for the year ended March 2021. As per Q4 results announced, United spirit ltd. got a 27.28% sequential decline in consolidated profit against the previous quarter and also, revenue decreased by 8.7% in this quarter as against the December quarter. Similarly, PBT decreased by 24.92% QoQ & gross profit margin decreased by 8.85% QoQ. Moreover, the company showed a decline of 27.41% in earnings per share against the previous quarter and a decline of 5.69% in the assets against H1.
The company did set a mark in term of social responsibility while the Q4 results of United Spirits were lamentable.
