Explore Business Standard
Don’t miss the latest developments in business and finance.
Beer maker United Breweries Ltd on Thursday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 1.81 crore in the third quarter ended December 31, 2022 on account of impairment of assets in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, besides higher expenses. The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 91.02 crore in the same quarter last fiscal, United Breweries Ltd (UBL) said in a regulatory filing. Consolidated total income during the quarter under review stood at Rs 3,713.54 crore as against Rs 3,517.98 crore in the year-ago period, it added. Total expenses were higher at Rs 3,675.28 crore as compared to Rs 3,394.4 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago, the company said. The company said there was continued inflationary pressures on costs, particularly on prices of barley and packaging material. During the quarter, the company said it incurred an exceptional item outgo of Rs 33.12 crore which was recorded as impairment on property, plant and equipment in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
The prices of foreign liquor and beer in Uttar Pradesh will increase by 10 per cent with the implementation of the new excise policy from April 1, an official statement said on Sunday. The new excise policy 2023-24 was cleared by Uttar Pradesh Cabinet on Saturday. According to the statement, an increment of 10 per cent has been made on licence fees of foreign liquor, beer, cannabis retail shops and model shops. The government has also increased the fee for running the canteen facility at model shops to Rs 3 lakh from the present Rs 2 lakh in the new excise policy. With the new policy, the government has also increased the licence fee and security for bonded warehouse licenses (BWFL-2A, 2B, 2C) of foreign liquor, beer and wine. The registration and renewal fees of the master warehouse have been increased too. "The increase in licence fee and that of running canteen facility along with warehouse licences will eventually lead to rise in liquor prices," said Devesh Jaiswal of the UP .
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Friday upheld the Rs 873-crore penalty imposed by fair trade regulator CCI on UBL and other beer makers. A two-member bench said after examining the materials and considering the arguments, it was of opinion that the "appellants had already admitted in the leniency application regarding their involvement in the cartelisation". Referring to the batch of petitions moved by the beer makers before the CCI seeking reduction in penalty, the NCLAT said: "Lesser penalty application is like an admission of guilt in a cartel." "Once they have admitted their involvement in an application filed under Section 46 read with Regulation 5, they were only entitled to question the imposition of penalty," said the two-member bench comprising Justices Rakesh Kumar and Ashok Kumar Mishra. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on September 24, 2021, imposed penalties totalling over Rs 873 crore on UBL, Carlsberg India, All India Brewers' Associat
The sale of all beer with alcohol at the eight World Cup stadiums was banned Friday, only two days before the soccer tournament is set to start. Non-alcoholic beer will still be sold at the 64 matches in the country. Following discussions between host country authorities and FIFA, a decision has been made to focus the sale of alcoholic beverages on the FIFA Fan Festival, other fan destinations and licensed venues, removing sales points of beer from ... stadium perimeters, FIFA said in a statement. Champagne, wine, whiskey and other alcohol is still expected to be served in the luxury hospitality areas of the stadiums. Outside of those places, beer is normally the only alcohol sold to regular ticket holders. Ab InBev, the parent company of World Cup beer sponsor Budweiser, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. AB InBev pays tens of millions of dollars at each World Cup for exclusive rights to sell beer and has already shipped the majority of its stock from Britain t
Premiumization of the beer market is a "strategic priority" for United Breweries Ltd (UBL) and the company has plans to introduce brands from the global portfolio of Heineken, the Dutch multinational, which now owns a majority stake, said a top company official. Besides, the company would continue to drive the mainstream portions through a category penetration share gain route, which contributes a larger chunk of the business. Presently, the Indian beer market is "underpenetrated" and it has "immense" potential led by factors including a sizeable young population, growing prosperity and rising urbanisation, said UBL CEO and Managing Director Rishi Pardal. "Other than beer penetration, our other strategic priority is premiumization of the market. Today the premium segment of the beer market is a small portion of the overall beer market. "While we continue to drive the mainstream portions through a category penetration share gain route, we are also focused on how we can premiumize th