Brands
United Spirits posts steady growth in December quarter
MUMBAI: Sip happens. Even as costs bubbled and advertising spend rose, United Spirits Limited managed to keep its balance steady, reporting resilient growth in the December 2025 quarter, according to its unaudited standalone financial results.
For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, United Spirits Limited posted revenue from operations of Rs 7,928 crore, up from Rs 7,192 crore in the September quarter and marginally higher than Rs 7,731 crore a year earlier. Total income for the quarter stood at Rs 8,072 crore.
Profit after tax came in at Rs 529 crore, an improvement over Rs 472 crore in the preceding quarter and broadly in line with Rs 473 crore reported in the December 2024 quarter. For the nine months ended December 31, 2025, profit after tax rose to Rs 1,259 crore, compared with Rs 1,107 crore in the corresponding period last year.
Operating performance remained stable despite higher advertising and promotion expenses, which climbed to Rs 516 crore in the quarter, reflecting sustained brand investments. Excise duty continued to be the single largest cost component at Rs 4,245 crore, while total expenses for the quarter stood at Rs 6,606 crore.
Profit before tax for the quarter was Rs 654 crore, after accounting for exceptional items of Rs 10 crore. For the nine-month period, profit before tax rose to Rs 1,634 crore, up from Rs 1,471 crore a year earlier.
On the segment front, the company continues to be driven primarily by its beverage alcohol business, which spans manufacturing, franchising, and sale of spirits. Its sports business, housed under Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited, remains the group’s second operating segment.
For the nine months ended December 31, 2025, United Spirits reported total income of Rs 21,224 crore, compared with Rs 20,487 crore in the year-ago period, underlining steady demand even amid cost pressures.
In a market where margins are often diluted by taxes and promotions, United Spirits’ December-quarter numbers suggest a careful balancing act, one that keeps the cash flowing without letting costs spill over.
Brands
UltraTech Cement appoints Jayant Dua as managing director
Dua will succeed K. C. Jhanwar after his term ends in December 2026
MUMBAI: UltraTech Cement, the flagship cement arm of the Aditya Birla Group, has elevated Jayant Dua as managing director, effective 1 April, 2026.
The company’s board also approved his appointment as additional director, managing director and key managerial personnel, effective 1 January, 2027, following the completion of the current managing director K C Jhanwar’s term on 31 December, 2026, according to a regulatory filing.
Dua will serve as managing director for a four-year term from 1 January, 2027 to 31 December, 2030.
A veteran executive with more than 37 years of professional experience, Dua joined the Aditya Birla Group’s cement business in 1996 and spent nearly a decade in various functional and leadership roles.
Over the past two decades, he has held several profit-and-loss and chief executive responsibilities across multiple group businesses, including insulators, insurance, Century Cement and the chlor-alkali segment. In 2023, he was elevated to lead the group’s renewables and textiles businesses.
Within the group, Dua has received several internal honours, including the chairman’s individual award for exceptional contribution in 2002, the outstanding leader award in 2009 and the leader of leaders recognition in 2022.
He holds an engineering degree from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, an MBA from International Management Institute and has completed the advanced management programme at Harvard Business School.
