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Informist, Wednesday, Jul. 29, 2026

 

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--Radico Khaitan: See Prestige & Above segment volume growth of 25% for FY27
--CONTEXT: Comments by Radico Khaitan's mgmt in earnings investor call
--Radico Khaitan: Q1 price hikes contributed 75 bps to margin expansion
--Radico Khaitan: Q1 margin in Indian made foreign liquor segment over 23%
--Radico Khaitan: Q1 margin in non-Indian made foreign liquor 11-11.5%
--Radico Khaitan:See retail price dn 7% in some whiskey pdts on India-UK FTA
--Radico Khaitan: Advertisement spend at 7-8% of sales enough to grow brands
--Radico Khaitan: See Prestige & Above volume up 25% FY27 vs 20?rlier
--Radico Khaitan: Believe in building and not buying brands
--Radico Khaitan: Don't see opportunities for brand acquisition

 

By Rajesh Gajra and Ruchira Kagita

 

MUMBAI – Price hikes contributed 75 basis points to the 536-bps surge in the earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation margin of Radico Khaitan Ltd. for the June quarter, the management said at a post-earnings conference call with analysts and investors Wednesday. The company reported an EBITDA margin of 20.7% for the June quarter, up from 15.3% in the year-ago quarter.

 

The EBITDA margin for the Indian-made foreign liquor segment was over 23% for the June quarter, while the margin for the non-Indian-made foreign liquor segment was 11-11.5%, a senior official said.

 

The company's gross margin also expanded to 49.1% for the June quarter from 43% a year ago. Benign raw material scenario accounted for 75 bps of the gross margin expansion in the reporting quarter, according to the company's earnings investor presentation. The management said it was sticking with its EBITDA margin guidance of 20% for the financial year 2026-27 (Apr-Mar).

 

On the volume growth guidance in its premium "Prestige & Above" segment, the management raised its forecast to 25% for FY27 from 20?rlier. "...as the premium and luxury portfolios continue to expand, we expect our capital efficiency and return ratios to further improve," a senior official said. For the June quarter, the volume of this premium segment surged 36% on year to 5.22 million cases while the non-premium regular segment fell 15% to 4.61 million cases.

 

As for the impact of the free trade agreement between India and the UK that came into effect from Jul. 15, cutting tariff on imports of alcoholic beverages, among other goods, into India, the management said it expects retail prices to go down by "only" 7-8% in select products.

 

On this expected decline in prices, a senior official said, "Today's consumer is looking at quality brands. So, as of now, our strategy remains the same. We will continue to focus on our single malt (whiskeys) and continue to spend behind that."

 

The company's advertising and promotional spend increased to 6.9% of the Indian-made foreign liquor sales in the June quarter from 5.8% in the year-ago quarter. The management said a 7-8% spend-to-sales ratio is "fair enough money to make the noise" to create and grow the company's brands, and hinted at no further increase in this ratio going ahead.

 

Responding to an analyst's question about probable acquisitions going ahead, the management said the company will focus on creating its own brands rather than acquiring new ones. "I think we have the capability of creating our own brands, and we have always believed in build versus buy. So I think our pipeline is quite robust, and we don't see any opportunity on acquiring a brand," a senior official said.

 

Radico Khaitan's net profit for the June quarter jumped up 70% on year to INR 2.26 billion while the revenue from operations increased 10% to INR 58.68 billion. Wednesday, the company's shares closed 2% higher at INR 4,373.80 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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