Indian liquor firm Som's shares plunge amid child labour concerns

Som Distilleries and Breweries

20/06/2024 07:25

By Indranil Sarkar and Arpan  Chaturvedi
       BENGALURU, June 20 (Reuters) - Shares of Indian liquor
firm Som Distilleries and Breweries  SDB.NS  fell as much as 9%
on Thursday after authorities said they would impound one of the
group's distilleries, where officials said 59 children had been
working illegally.
    Police launched an investigation into Som after the National
Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) last week
found 39 boys and 20 girls working at a distillery in Madhya
Pradesh state. The agency also released photos of children's
hands with chemical burns.
    Som shares fell nearly 9% on Thursday, taking weekly losses
to 15%, before recovering. The company is valued at $271
million, according to LSEG data.
    Som said in an exchange filing this week the issue was
related to a plant run by its "associate private limited
company", which used labour supplied by contractors, who may not
have carried out proper age checks.
    Some of the children found working at the distillery were
taken to the factory in school buses, NCPCR has said.
    "On the basis of the interaction with the children, there is
an apprehension that the minors found working in the said
distilleries may have been brought to the premises in the guise
of taking children to school or to play," NCPCR said in a June
19 letter to state officials, seen by Reuters.
    The state government has temporarily suspended the plant's
manufacturing licences.
    The company in its 2022 annual report stated its policy and
practices relating to protection of human rights, including not
using child labour, applies to the company and its units, "as
well as to the contractors engaged by the company".
    In its latest 2023 annual report, Som also flagged zero
cases of child labour complaints filed by employees and workers.
    Som sells beer and whisky in India's thriving alcohol
industry, where both foreign and domestic players operate. Its
website describes it as an "internationally acclaimed brand"
available in over 20 markets including the United States, New
Zealand and the United Kingdom.

 (Editing by Aditya Kalra)
 ((Indranil.Sarkar@thomsonreuters.com; Mobile:  +91
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