United Spirits records whopping 1780 per cent rise in PAT

Banglore, Jan 25 (UNI) United Spirits Ltd., the world's third largest spirit company, has recorded a whopping 1780 per cent rise in the Profit After Tax at Rs 443.98 crore during the first nine months of current fiscal as against Rs 23.61 crore earned during the corresponding period last year.

The profit before non-recurring items and tax shot up by 319 per cent to Rs 280.02 crore from Rs 66.79 crore during same period last year.

Earnings before interest, depreciation, tax and non-recurring items was at Rs 381.1 crore that was nearly twice the earnings in the comparative period last year of Rs 204.7 crore, a company release said here today.

Consistent and quantum jumps in its EBIDTA figures has now become the hallmark of the spirits giant from the time the Company acquired operational control of Shaw Wallace's spirits operations in June 2005.

Sales of its key brands witnessed consistent double-digit increase to clock 45.9 million cases, compared to 39.1 million cases in the corresponding 9-month period last year.

Overall volumes were at 49.8 million cases which represented a nine per cent growth over last year. Sales of key profitable brands like McDowell's No.1, Antiquity Blue, Signature, White Mischief, Romanov, Royal Challenge&Bagpiper consistently maintained double-digit growths.

The share of the main line brands in the total USL portfolio is now over 92 per cent up from 72 percent in 2001-02, following a deliberate strategy to emphasise value rather than volume.

UNI