United Breweries Limited reported a mixed set of results for the fourth quarter, with modest profit growth but pressure on revenue and operating margins, reflecting a challenging cost environment despite steady demand.
The company posted a net profit of ₹101.7 crore for Q4, marking a 4.4% increase compared to ₹97.4 crore in the same quarter last year. The rise in profitability comes even as topline performance remained under pressure, indicating some level of cost optimisation and operational resilience during the quarter.
Revenue from operations declined 3.2% year-on-year to ₹2,247.8 crore, down from ₹2,321.4 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. The dip in revenue suggests pricing pressures or an unfavourable product mix, even as overall consumption trends remained stable.
At the operating level, EBITDA saw a sharp contraction of 25.3%, falling to ₹139.1 crore from ₹186.3 crore a year ago. This significant drop highlights rising input costs and margin pressures, which weighed heavily on profitability despite controlled net earnings growth.
EBITDA margin narrowed to 6.2% in Q4, compared to 8% in the same period last year, reinforcing the impact of cost inflation and operational challenges faced by the company during the quarter.
On the positive side, volume growth came in at 4.1%, outperforming the CNBC-TV18 poll estimates of 2–4%. This indicates underlying demand for the company’s products remains strong, offering some support to future growth prospects.