Indian winemaker Sula Vineyards' Q4 profit slips on mounting expenses

Sula Vineyards

08/05/2024 15:16

BENGALURU, May 8 (Reuters) - Sula Vineyards  SULA.NS ,
India's biggest wine maker by revenue, reported a 5% drop in
fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday, as mounting expenses
overshadowed steady demand for its premium brands such as Rasa
and Dindori.
    The Mumbai-headquartered company's consolidated net profit
fell to 135.5 million rupees ($1.6 million) in January-March
from 142.4 million rupees a year ago.
    Rapid growth of restaurants and increasing incomes have
nudged India's rising well-to-do young crowd towards wine
consumption.
    Sula's revenue rose nearly 10% to 1.32 billion rupees in the
quarter on a 14% jump in wine sales.
    However, the cost of raw materials, which include grapes,
sugar and yeast, surged nearly 9% to 888.8 million rupees,
hurting its profit.
    The winemaker's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation
and amortization margin contracted to 25.3% from 26.4% a year
ago.
    The company's wine tourism segment grew more than 31%.
    "Wine tourism is a top priority and we are expanding fast,"
CEO Rajeev Samant said in a statement.
    Sula recommended a final dividend of 4.50 rupees per share.
Its shares closed up 1% ahead of results.


($1 = 83.4700 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Ashna Teresa Britto in Bengaluru; Editing by
Sonia Cheema and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
 ((AshnaTeresa.Britto@thomsonreuters.com;))