Gurgaon: Varun Beverages Limited (VBL), a key player in beverage industry and one of the largest franchisee of PepsiCo worldwide, said on Thursday its revenue from operations grew over 24 percent to Rs 1,359 crore in the first quarter of 2019 (January to March) as compared to Rs 1,095 crore in the year-on period.
Total sales volumes were up 12.3 percent at 9.03 crore unit cases in Q1 2019 as compared to 8.04 crore unit cases in Q1 2018. The company follows a calendar year (January to December) for reporting results.
The earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) increased by 26.5 percent to Rs 218.4 crore from Rs 172.7 crore while profit after tax jumped 103 percent to Rs 40 crore from Rs 19.7 crore in the same period on the back of robust volume growth.
“We have concluded the acquisition of franchise rights in south and west regions from PepsiCo for a national bottling, sales and distribution footprint in seven states and five union territories,” said VBL Chairman Ravi Jaipuria.
“This consolidates our dominant position as a key player in the beverage industry. VBL now accounts for more than 80 percent PepsiCo India’s beverage sales volumes in India from 51 percent earlier, and has expanded its presence to 27 states and seven union territories across India,” he said.
At the same time, the bottling appointment and trademark license agreement for India with PepsiCo India has been extended till April 30, 2039, further strengthening VBL’s close to a three-decade-long partnership.
The company produces and distributes a wide range of carbonated soft drinks as well as a large selection of non-carbonated beverages including packaged drinking water sold under trademarks owned by PepsiCo.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]