Total Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) volume declined 1.2% whereas Prestige & Above category volume grew 14.2%. Prestige & Above net revenue growth was 16.1% compared to Q4 FY23. The company said that it expects to continue to deliver a double-digit premium volume growth in FY2025.
Non-IMFL revenue growth was due to full capacity utilization of the Sitapur plant; incremental country liquor volumes from Sitapur coupled with the country liquor price increases received effective from 1 April 2023.
Profit before tax in Q4 FY24 was at Rs 76.53 crore, up 48.98% from Rs 51.37 crore reported in Q4 FY23.
EBITDA climbed 56.8% year on year to Rs 125.6 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2024. EBITDA margin improved to 11.6% in Q4 FY23 as compared to 9.6% registered in the same period a year ago.
Gross Margin during the quarter was 41% compared to 40.6% in Q4 FY23. Gross margin was impacted Y-o-Y basis due to significant foodgrain inflation. Grain price inflation had a negative impact of 490 bps YoY on gross margin. Despite commodity inflation in the ENA and grain prices, company has been able to sustain gross margin due to the ongoing premiumization and the price increases in the IMFL business.
Although, prices of certain packaging materials have softened recently, the firm cautiously monitor the trends of Grain, ENA and glass bottles where volatility persists, said the company.
Radico Khaitan said that its strategy is to continue to make prudent marketing investments over existing core brands and new launches to sustain the growth and market share. During Q4 FY24, A&SP was 7.4% of IMFL sales compared to 4.5% in Q4 FY23.
On a quarterly basis, the amount may vary but the company expects to maintain A&SP spend around 6% to 8% of our IMFL revenues to be able to drive the sales momentum.
The company's net debt stood at Rs 687.1 crore, an increase in net debt of 76.1 crore since 31 March 2023.
The firm has incurred Rs 891 crore on the Rampur Dual Feed, Sitapur Green Field, and other projects since April 2022.
On full year basis, the company's consolidated net profit increased 25.11% to Rs 255.76 crore on 31% rise in net revenue to Rs 4,118.5 crore in FY24 over FY23.
Dr. Lalit Khaitan, chairman & managing director said, “FY2024 has been a year of consolidation for Radico Khaitan . During the year, we delivered strong operational performance despite a difficult macroeconomic environment. We ended the year with robust Prestige & Above brand volume growth, underscoring the strength of our brand portfolio and excellent execution capabilities.
We remain focused on implementing our strategic plan by driving operational efficiency, introducing innovative products, and expanding our presence both on-trade and off-trade to sustain long-term profitable growth. During the year, we completed the commissioning of our 350 KLPD distillery at Sitapur. The commissioning of this facility not only secures long-term ENA supplies but also positions us strongly to capitalize on future growth opportunities in the branded business with enhanced bottling capacities.
Abhishek Khaitan, managing director of Radico Khaitan, stated, “While the premium segment continued to see strong positive traction, demand trends in the regular category remained below expectations owing to a general up-trending by certain consumers and a slowdown at the lower end. Given our premiumization focus, our Prestige & Above category brands today account for 46% of our IMFL sales volume and 69% of IMFL sales value. In this context, it is heartening to note that the Magic Moments brand family has achieved 6.3 million case sales and crossed the milestone of Rs. 1000 Crore in sales value, growing at 25% over last year.
During FY2024, while the prices of certain packaging materials have been stable, the cost of grain, ENA, and glass has been volatile. This has led to significant pressure on our gross margins. However, with our premium product mix and price increases, we have been able to offset the pressure of raw material prices. With the expectations of a normal monsoon and better crop yield, we are seeing early signs of softening grain prices. We believe that the worst of the input cost increases is behind us, and we expect to benefit from any tailwinds in raw material prices in FY2025.”
Meanwhile, the company's board has recommended a dividend of Rs 3 per equity share for FY24. The dividend, if approved by the shareholders, will be paid within 30 days from declaration at the AGM.
Radico Khaitan is among the oldest and one of the largest manufacturers of Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) in India. It is one of the few companies in India to have developed its entire brand portfolio organically.
The scrip rose 0.55% to Rs 1,620.45 on the BSE.