India's Sula Vineyards posts lower Q3 profit on weak urban demand

Sula Vineyards

05/02/2025 13:20

Feb 5 (Reuters) - India's biggest winemaker Sula
Vineyards  SULA.NS  reported a 35% fall in third-quarter profit
on Wednesday, as demand took a hit from a slowdown in urban
consumption.
    Sula's consolidated net profit fell to 280.6 million rupees
($3.2 million) in the quarter ending Dec. 31, from 429.8 million
rupees a year ago.
    Urban consumption fell to a two-year low in November, as
persistently high food inflation, subdued wage growth and
erratic weather patterns led consumers to pull back
discretionary spending. Sula gets about 90% of its revenue from
urban markets. 
    Sales were also impacted due to elections in the western
state of Maharashtra, which is among Sula's key markets, during
the quarter, the company said. 
    The winemaker's own brands segment, which contributes about
90% of the total revenue, saw a marginal 1% rise in revenue
during the quarter. 
    Its smaller wine tourism segment saw a 12% increase in
revenue.
    Total revenue fell 0.4%, while total expenses rose about
11.4% from a year earlier.
    Sula's core profit margin contracted to 24.8% from 33.5% a
year ago.

($1 = 87.3580 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Ananta Agarwal and Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru;
Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
 ((Ananta.agarwal@thomsonreuters.com;))