Liquor maker Radico Khaitan on Thursday reported a 24.41% rise in its consolidated net profit to Rs 80.66 crore for the second quarter ended September 2024, led by growth from its premium segment. The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 64.83 crore a year ago, according to a BSE filing from Radico Khaitan.
Its revenue from operations rose 9.45 per cent to Rs 3,906.58 crore during the quarter under review. It was Rs 3,569.06 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.
Radico Khaitan's total expenses increased 8.93% to Rs 3,797.92 crore in the September quarter.
"Gross Margin was impacted year-on-year basis due to significant foodgrain inflation offset by premiumisation in the IMFL business. Gross margin improved 258 bps on quarter-on-quarter basis due to the ongoing premiumisation, and a stable raw material and packaging material scenario," said Radico Khaitan in its earning statement.
The total income, which includes other income in the September quarter was Rs 3,909.78 crore, up 9.52%.
Its Chairman & Managing Director Lalit Khaitan said, "We continued to deliver strong operational performance in Q2 fiscal 2024-25, achieving 12.6% growth in the Prestige & Above category, along with sequential improvement in Ebitda margins."
Radico Khaitan has achieved double-digit premium volume growth for 12 consecutive quarters, he added.
In the June quarter, its total IMFL volume (Indian-made foreign liquor) decreased by 2.5% to 6.78 million cases. However, the Prestige & Above category volume grew 12.6% to 3.20 million cases.
"Prestige & Above net revenue growth was 18% compared to Q2 fiscal 2023-24. We expect to continue to deliver a double-digit premium volume growth in fiscal 2024-25. Non-IMFL revenue growth was due to full distillery capacity utilisation of the Sitapur plant, which was commissioned during September 2023," it said.
However, the net debt of Radico Khaitan, which has brands like 8 PM, Rampur Indian Single Malt Whisky, Morpheus and Magic Moments was at Rs 745.1 crore. It has increased Rs 58 crore since March 31, 2024.
"The company has incurred Rs 956 crore on the Rampur Dual Feed, Sitapur Green Field, and other projects since April 2022. Increase in net debt over March 2024 is primarily due to cyclical building up of inventory," it said.
Shares of Radico Khaitan Ltd on Wednesday settled at Rs 2,294.30 on BSE, up 2.70% from the previous close.