PepsiCo bottler Varun Beverages Ltd on Wednesday released its quarter earnings report for the Q1 of CY2025 with profit at Rs 726.49 crore, posting a growth of 35.22 per cent in comparison to Rs 537.27 crore recorded during the corresponding quarter of previous year. The profit growth was driven by robust volume growth and lower finance cost. It posted revenue from operations at Rs 5680.03 crore, up 29.15 per cent as against Rs 4397.98 crore recorded during the year ago period. The company EBITDA stood at Rs 1,264 crore, up 27.8 per cent YoY.
While EBITDA margins in India improved by 111 bps on account of operational efficiencies from robust volume growth, EBITDA margins marginally declined at the consolidated level by 20 bps because of the lower profitability in the South Africa market.
Varun Beverages posted consolidated sales volume growth of 30.1 per cent to 312.4 million cases in Q1 CY2025 from 240.2 million cases in Q1 CY2024. This was driven by strong organic volume growth of 15.5 per cent in India and in-organic volume contributions from South Africa and DRC. Net realisation per case increased by 1.8 per cent in India and remained flat in international markets (ex. South Africa). There is a decline of 0.9 per cent in net realization per case at the consolidated level because of lower realization in own brands in the South African market. South Africa achieved 141 million cases in the trailing four quarters, reflecting around 13 per cent growth over the same period last year, the company said.
Due to the relatively lower margin profile of owned brands in the South African market and the higher mix of CSD in India, Varun Beverages posted gross margins at 54.6 per cent, reporting a decline of 171 basis points as compared to Q1CY24. CSD constituted 75 per cent, NCB 7 per cent and Packaged Drinking Water 18 per cent in Q1CY25. In Q1CY25, the mix of Low sugar / No sugar products increased to around 59 per cent of consolidated sales volumes, the company said.
Ravi Jaipuria, Chairman, Varun Beverages Limited, said, “We are pleased to report a strong operational and financial performance in the first quarter of CY2025. Consolidated sales volumes grew by 30.1 per cent YoY, driven by healthy organic volume growth of 15.5 per cent in India. The integration of the SA territory has progressed well, with focused efforts on strengthening on-ground infrastructure, streamlining operations, and enhancing execution across the market.”
He further added, “We achieved 141 million cases in SA over the trailing four quarters, marking a growth of ~13 per cent over the same period last year. Historically, net realizations in SA are lower due to a higher mix of own brands; however, we are actively working to scale PepsiCo’s portfolio, which is expected to support improvements in realizations and margins going forward.”
Dividend announcement
The company board recommended a final dividend of Rs 0.50 per equity share of the face value of Rs 2 each for the year ended 31 December 2024. This was approved by the shareholders at the Annual General Meeting held on 03 April 2025 and subsequently paid in April 2025. In line with the guidelines of company’s dividend policy, the board has approved an interim dividend @ 25 per cent of face value i.e. Rs 0.50 per share. Total cash outflow would be around Rs 1,691 million, it said.