JOIN USUB group company United Spirits (USL) reported 18.50 per cent decline in its standalone net profit for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 (Q1) at Rs 118.13 crore due to rise in input costs that hit its operating profit by Rs 61 crore.
USL had reported a standalone profit of Rs 145 crore in the corresponding quarter of last fiscal.
In a regulatory filing to BSE on Thursday, USL said that an increase in the price of extra neutral alcohol, a key raw material, had an “adverse impact” of over Rs 61 crore on its manufacturing cost. It attributed the increase to an “evident cartelisation by vendors while quoting for ethanol supply tenders to oil marketing companies” and said price of extra neutral alcohol could rise (in the future).
During the quarter under review, USL, whose new promoters now include UK-based liquor company Diageo plc further to its acquiring 25.02 per cent stake, pared down debt by Rs 1,272 crore sequentially, from the proceeds of the stake sale, which enabled it to reduce interest costs to Rs 159.46 crore, down 3.68 per cent from Rs 165.56 crore in the year-ago period.
Total income (standalone) in Q1 stood at Rs 2,207 crore, up 6.46 per cent from Rs 2,073 crore in the corresponding period of last fiscal. The enhanced equity share capital of USL was Rs 145.33 crore as on June 30, 2013, up from Rs 130.80 crore as on March 31, 2013. USL stock closed at Rs 2,390.75 on Thursday on the BSE, down 0.04 per cent from its previous close.