- 05 May 2023
- ICICIdirect Research
UNITED BREWERIES DISAPPOINTS ON MARGINS FRONT
UBL - 2174 Change: 5.40 (0.25 %)News: Q4FY23 net revenues remained flattish YoY at Rs 1766 crore. Volumes grew 3% YoY. Premium volumes grew 19% with strong performance from Heineken and Kingfisher Ultra & Ultra Max. Absolute EBITDA, however, de-grew 80% to Rs 54 crore. EBITDA margin at 3% was much lower than I-direct estimate of 12%, mainly due to higher COGS inflation (down 566 bps vs estimates) and higher employee and other expenses. Subsequently, reported PAT arrived at Rs 10 crore (vs. Rs 164 crore in base quarter) mainly led by weak operating performance.
View: As per the management, inflation in COGS is expected to continue in the near term. While Q4 was relatively stronger in volumes (on a already high base), the impact has been severe. Also, while Q1 will begun with fresh barley crop (reputedly of better quality), the management expects near term margin headwinds to continue. The management commentary regarding volume growth in April and further price hikes in key states would be a key monitorable on the conference call.
Impact: Negative