United Breweries reports Q2 net profit at Rs 42.62 crore

United Breweries, the home-grown liquor firm, on Wednesday reported a net profit of Rs 42.62 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2014.

The company had posted a net loss of Rs 18.57 crore during the corresponding period of previous financial year.

Net sales of UB Group stood at Rs 959.86 crore during the Q2, up 27.60 per cent as against Rs 752.2 crore in the same period of 2014 fiscal, the company said in a Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) filing.

"The just concluded quarter saw the company achieving better gross profit margins on account of selective price increase in some markets and lower input costs primarily due to usage of a higher percentage of recycled bottles," United Breweries said in a statement.

"Double digit industry growth was widespread across regions, growth spurred primarily on account of strong beer... Mild beer too witnessed promising growth," the liquor firm added.

United Breweries said its plan for setting up a greenfield brewery in Bihar is on track and it is likely to commence operations during the last quarter of the 2014-15 financial year.

Shares of United Breweries ended 1.18 per cent higher at Rs 686.60 a piece on Thursday at the BSE.