USL, Now Biggest Global Spirits Player By Volume, Sees More Growth Ahead
May 2, 2011India’s United Spirits Ltd (USL) may have only recently surpassed the vaunted 100-million-case mark, but Vijay Mallya, chairman of USL parent UB Group, already has another target in mind: 200 million cases. Mallya said in recent days that his company plans to pass the 200-million-case threshold in annual sales within the next five years.
In its recently completed fiscal year (ended March 31), USL sold 114 million cases of spirits worldwide, making it the world’s biggest spirits company by case volume (Diageo, long the global leader, sells around 106 million cases of spirits annually). The company got off to a strong start in calendar 2011, its fiscal fourth quarter. For the three-month period, USL enjoyed a 36% jump in net profit to R774.4 million ($17.5m). Sales rose by 12% to 28.8 million cases.
While announcing its fourth-quarter and results, USL also introduced its new managing director, Ashok Capoor. Capoor, who will also be USL’s president, replaces VK Rekhi, whose five-year tenure as managing director has ended.
| United Spirits Ltd – Million-Case Brands (millions of nine-liter cases) |
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| Percent | Share of Company2 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Brand | Type | 2009 | 2010 | Change2 | 2009 | 2010 |
| 1 | Bagpiper | Whisky | 16.26 | 16.39 | 0.8% | 16.5% | 14.8% |
| 2 | McDowell’s No 1 Whisky | Whisky | 13.52 | 14.32 | 5.9% | 13.8% | 12.9% |
| 3 | McDowell’s No 1 Rum | Rum | 11.21 | 13.89 | 23.9% | 11.4% | 12.5% |
| 4 | McDowell’s No 1 Brandy | Brandy | 9.22 | 11.54 | 25.2% | 9.4% | 10.4% |
| 5 | Old Tavern | Whisky | 6.84 | 9.08 | 32.7% | 7.0% | 8.2% |
| 6 | Hayward’s Fine | Whisky | 4.06 | 4.65 | 14.5% | 4.1% | 4.2% |
| 7 | Director’s Special | Whisky | 4.39 | 4.54 | 3.4% | 4.5% | 4.1% |
| 8 | Honey Bee | Brandy | 3.60 | 4.37 | 21.4% | 3.7% | 3.9% |
| 9 | Director’s Special Black | Whisky | 2.03 | 2.88 | 41.9% | 2.1% | 2.6% |
| 10 | McDowell’s Green Label | Whisky | 1.99 | 2.53 | 27.1% | 2.0% | 2.3% |
| 11 | Gold Riband | Whisky | 2.68 | 2.25 | -16.0% | 2.7% | 2.0% |
| 12 | Old Cask | Rum | 2.21 | 2.11 | -4.5% | 2.2% | 1.9% |
| 13 | White Mischief | Vodka | 1.90 | 1.87 | -1.6% | 1.9% | 1.7% |
| 14 | Romanov | Vodka | 1.25 | 1.59 | 27.2% | 1.3% | 1.4% |
| 15 | Bagpiper | Rum | 0.99 | 1.45 | 46.5% | 1.0% | 1.3% |
| 16 | Signature Rare | Whisky | 1.14 | 1.32 | 15.8% | 1.2% | 1.2% |
| 17 | John Exshaw | Brandy | 1.48 | 1.28 | -13.5% | 1.5% | 1.2% |
| 18 | Royal Challenge | Whisky | 1.27 | 1.16 | -8.7% | 1.3% | 1.0% |
| 19 | Blue Riband | Gin | 1.09 | 1.13 | 3.7% | 1.1% | 1.0% |
| 20 | Old Adventurer | Rum | 1.23 | 1.05 | -14.6% | 1.3% | 0.9% |
| Total Top 20 | 88.36 | 99.40 | 12.5% | 89.9% | 89.8% | ||
| Other Brands | 9.96 | 11.28 | 13.3% | 10.1% | 10.2% | ||
| Total United Spirits1 | 98.32 | 110.68 | 12.6% | 100.0% | 100.0% | ||
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1 addition of columns may not agree due to rounding 2 based on unrounded data Source: IMPACT DATABANK |
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