United Spirits net rises 21% to Rs 280 crore in third quarter

Diageo-controlled liquor maker United Spirits Ltd (USL) reported a 20.82% rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 280.3 crore for the third quarter ended December 2020.

The company's board also approved the succession plan to appoint Hina Nagarajan as the Chief Executive Officer - Designate of the company from April 1.

USL had posted a net profit of Rs 232 crore in the 2019 December quarter. The company's revenues from operations jumped 7.65% to Rs 8,410.3 crore in the latest December quarter. In the yearago period, the same stood at Rs 7,812.3 crore, it said.

However, total expenses climbed to Rs 8,074.5 crore in the third quarter of the current fiscal as against Rs 7,503.3 crore in the same period a year ago.

"Operational resilience, contextual marketing with focus on in-home occasions and renovation of our core brands supported the topline recovery," Diageo India MD & CEO Anand Kripalu said. The third quarter reflects improving consumer sentiment over previous quarters, notwithstanding on-premise footfalls still being low, the route to market change in Andhra Pradesh and taxation led price hikes post COVID-19, he added.