Varun Beverages reported a strong start to calendar year 2025, with consolidated net profit rising 35% year-on-year to Rs 726 crore for the January–March quarter, compared to Rs 537 crore in the same period last year.
The company, which is one of the largest franchisees of PepsiCo beverages globally, also saw its revenue from operations climb 29% to Rs 5,567 crore, up from Rs 4,317 crore in the first quarter of 2024. Operating performance was also robust, with EBITDA increasing to Rs 1,264 crore, a 27.8% jump from Rs 989 crore a year earlier. However, the EBITDA margin declined slightly to 22.7%, down from 22.9%. Total expenses for the quarter rose to Rs 4,730 crore, compared to Rs 3,690 crore in the corresponding period last year.
Chairman Ravi Jaipuria attributed the performance to strong volume growth and continued expansion across domestic and international markets. “Consolidated sales volumes grew by 30.1% YoY, driven by healthy organic volume growth of 15.5% in India,” he said. The company highlighted progress in integrating its recently acquired South African operations, which recorded 141 million cases over the trailing four quarters, a 13% increase over the previous year. While margins in the region remain lower due to a higher share of own-brand sales, the company is working to expand PepsiCo’s portfolio in the market to boost realisations.
New greenfield manufacturing units in Kangra (Himachal Pradesh) and Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh) also began operations in time for the peak summer season. Two more facilities, in Bihar and Meghalaya, are expected to start production later in 2025. Additionally, backward integration units at Prayagraj and the Democratic Republic of Congo were launched to improve supply chain efficiency. In a push to broaden its footprint in the packaged food category, Varun Beverages has also started distributing PepsiCo’s snack products in Zimbabwe and Zambia, a move the company sees as a step toward portfolio diversification in emerging markets.