BENGALURU (Reuters) – India’s ‘Magic Moments’ vodka maker Radico Khaitan on Tuesday reported a third-quarter profit, which grew at its fastest pace in more than two years, fuelled by sustained demand for its premium brands.
Consolidated net profit rose 23% to 751.5 million rupees ($9 million) in the three months to Dec. 31, the biggest rise since June 2021.
Radico has for around two years focused on growing its premium segment, which counts a mostly affluent population as its consumer group. The segment includes brands like ‘Rampur’ whisky and ‘Magic Moments’ vodka.
The premium segment’s sales volume was up 20% at 3.1 million cases, fuelling a 29% rise in the segment’s revenue.
That drove a 47% rise in net revenue to 11.61 billion rupees in the quarter. Radico’s net revenue is the overall revenue minus excise duty on sales.
Meanwhile, price hikes hurt demand in the regular segment – that includes 8PM whisky – dragging sales volume down 12% to 3.1 million cases. The segment’s revenue fell 11%.
“While the demand for the regular category brands was muted, premium brands growth remained robust,” Chairman and Managing Director Lalit Khaitan said.
“With continued government spending and a favorable consumer sentiment, we believe that consumption should see an uptrend in the future.”
Last month, larger rival United Spirits also reported a higher profit on strong demand for its premium brands.
Radico Khaitan’s shares closed 0.6% lower ahead of results.
($1 = 83.0240 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng)
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