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
Dabur buys minority stake in Ras Beauty for Rs 60 crore
Dabur Ventures deal backs fast-growing luxury skincare brand
MUMBAI: Dabur India Limited has dipped into the world of luxury skincare, signing a definitive agreement to acquire a minority stake in Ras Beauty Private Limited for Rs 60 crore. The investment marks the first bet from Dabur Ventures, the FMCG major’s Rs 500 crore platform set up in October 2025 to back high-potential, new-age direct-to-consumer brands.
Founded in Raipur by Shubhika Jain, her sister Suramya Jain and their mother Sangeeta Jain, Ras Beauty has grown from a family-led passion project into a fast-scaling “Farm-to-Face” skincare label. Its range of face elixirs, serums and moisturisers blends essential oils with nature-derived actives, striking a balance between botanical purity and laboratory precision.
The numbers tell their own story. Ras has clocked a three-year Cagr of around 75 per cent and an annual run rate of approximately Rs 100 crore, all while maintaining strong gross margins. That growth has been fuelled by a digital-first approach, in-house R&D and manufacturing, and a sharp focus on clean, sustainable sourcing.
Dabur India executive director and group head corporate strategy Abhinav Dhall, said the company was drawn to Ras’s distinct positioning at the intersection of nature, science and luxury. He added that the premium beauty segment is poised for robust expansion over the coming decade, and that Ras is well placed to capture that opportunity.
For Ras, the partnership is as much about scale as it is about shared philosophy. Co-founder and CEO Shubhika Jain said Dabur’s 141-year legacy of building trusted, purpose-led brands makes it a natural ally. The capital infusion, she noted, will help accelerate the brand’s omnichannel footprint, deepen research capabilities and invest in team and brand building, with an eye on establishing Ras as a leading Indian luxury skincare name both domestically and overseas.
With this move, Dabur is not just investing in a skincare label. It is placing an early wager on India’s growing appetite for premium, conscious beauty, and signalling that heritage FMCG players are ready to play in the new-age D2C arena.
