During Q2 CY23, total sales volumes grew by 4.6% to 314 million cases from 300 million cases in Q2 CY22, led by robust growth in international markets. However, sales volume growth in India got affected due to abnormally high unseasonal rains throughout the quarter.

Gross margins improved by 196 bps to 52.5% from 50.5% in Q2 CY23, primarily owing to softening of PET chips prices.

EBITDA stood at Rs 1,511 crore, recording a growth of 21% on year on year basis while EBITDA margins improved by 169 bps to 26.9% in Q2 CY23, driven by higher gross margins and operational efficiencies.

Ravi Jaipuria, chairman of Varun Beverages said, “We have delivered a resilient performance in the quarter, despite facing a soft demand environment in India due to abnormally high unseasonal rains throughout the quarter. Our consolidated revenue grew by 13.3% during the quarter, with our international territories showing strong momentum.

Our newly established greenfield plants and brownfield manufacturing lines have become operational. In line with our commitment to meet the increasing demand, especially for our juices and value-added dairy products, we are currently in the process of establishing greenfield facilities in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha. These new facilities, along with the upcoming facility in DRC, are expected to be fully operational before the season next year. Further, we have incorporated a new subsidiary in South Africa to explore the business of manufacturing and distribution of beverages.

While we witnessed slower-than-anticipated demand due to unseasonal rains, we remain optimistic about our full-year performance, especially considering the lower seasonality in our business following the integration of West and South territories. As we move forward, we will continue to capitalize on our position as a key player in the beverage industry and focus on strengthening our capabilities in line with customer preferences.”

Varun Beverages is a key player in beverage industry and one of the largest franchisees of PepsiCo in the world (outside USA). The company produces and distributes a wide range of carbonated soft drinks (CSDs), as well as a large selection of non-carbonated beverages (NCBs), including packaged drinking water sold under trademarks owned by PepsiCo. As on date, VBL has been granted franchises for various PepsiCo products across 27 States and 7 Union Territories in India. VBL has also been granted the franchise for various PepsiCo products for the territories of Nepal, Sri Lanka, Morocco, Zambia and Zimbabwe.