United Breweries net loss at Rs 1.81 cr in Dec quarter

Beer maker United Breweries Ltd on Thursday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 1.81 crore in the third quarter ended December 31, 2022, on account of the impairment of assets in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, besides higher expenses.

The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 91.02 crore in the same quarter last fiscal, United Breweries Ltd (UBL) said in a regulatory filing.

Consolidated total income during the quarter under review stood at Rs 3,713.54 crore as against Rs 3,517.98 crore in the year-ago period, it added.

Total expenses were higher at Rs 3,675.28 crore as compared to Rs 3,394.4 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago, the company said.

The company said there was continued inflationary pressures on costs, particularly on prices of barley and packaging material.

During the quarter, the company said it incurred an exceptional item outgo of Rs 33.12 crore which was recorded as impairment on property, plant and equipment in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

UBL said due to a change in operating models in these states on account of a post-integration review undertaken by Heineken, there has been a volume decline, which resulted in lower cash inflows due to reduction in revenue.

This "triggered an impairment review being performed across property, plant and equipment of the breweries in the two states", it added.

UBL said inflationary pressure on costs is seen to continue in the near term and it would seek to take appropriate actions to mitigate the impact as far as possible.