Varun Beverages March quarter profit rises 35% to ₹726 crore, interim dividend announced

Varun Beverages on Wednesday, April 30, announced a 35.21% year-on-year (YoY) surge in its consolidated net profit to ₹726.48 crore in the March quarter of the calendar year 2025 (Q1 CY25).

In the same quarter last year, its net profit stood at ₹537.27 crore.

The company's consolidated revenue from operations increased by 29.15% YoY to ₹5,680 crore during during the quarter ended March 2025, compared to ₹4,397.9 crore in the corresponding period las year.

Varun Beverages' earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) stood at ₹1,263.96 crore in Q1 CY25, jumping 27.8% YoY from ₹988.76 crore in Q1 CY24, in line with its revenue growth. Its EBITDA margins in India grew by 111 bps on account of operational efficiencies from the robust volume growth. However, the margin declined marginally at the consolidated level by 20 bps due to lower profitability in South Africa.

Its consolidated sales volume rose 30.1% to 312.4 million cases in Q1 CY2025 from 240.2 million cases in Q1 CY2024, with a mix of low/no sugar products increasing to about 59% of its sales volume. It was driven by strong organic volume growth of 15.5% in India and in-organic volume contributions from South Africa and DRC, Varun Beverages said.

Commenting on the perfomance, Ravi Jaipuria, Chairman of Varun Beverages, 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% YoY, driven by healthy organic volume growth of 15.5% 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. We achieved 141 million cases in SA over the trailing four quarters, marking a growth of ~13% 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," he added.

"We recently commenced operations at our new greenfield production facilities in Kangra (Himachal Pradesh) and Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh), significantly enhancing capacity concurrently with the peak summer season. The implementation of other two greenfield production facilities scheduled for 2025 season in Bihar and Meghalaya is on track and shall commence the commercial production very soon. Additionally, we have established backward integration facilities at Prayagraj and DRC, further strengthening our operational backbone and supply chain efficiency," Jaipuria said.

"Building on our nascent presence in the snack food segment, we have initiated the distribution and sale of PepsiCo’s snack products in Zimbabwe and Zambia. These markets present a significant growth opportunity within the packaged foods category, supporting our focus on portfolio expansion across high-potential regions," he stated.

"Looking ahead, we see immense headroom for growth in India’s beverage market, supported by rising per capita incomes, accelerating urbanisation, expanding electrification, and improving cold-chain infrastructure. With adequate capacities in place, a diversified product portfolio, and a strengthened distribution network, we remain well-positioned to capitalise on these opportunities and deliver sustainable value to all stakeholders,” Jaipuria concluded.

Board greenlights interim dividend

The company's board also announced an interim dividend of ₹0.5 per share (25% of the face value) for the financial year 2025, on the total issued, subscribed and paid-up 338.19 crore (or 338,18,65,692) equity shares of the nominal value of ₹2 each.

This will result in cash outflow of approximately ₹1,691 million, Varun Beverage's Chairman said.

"The interim dividend will be paid on and from Friday, May 9, 2025 to those shareholders whose name appears in the Register of Members of the Company or in the list of beneficial owners maintained by the Depositories as on Wednesday, May 7, 2025," the company said in an exchange filing.