Radico Khaitan delivered exceptional financial results in H1FY27, with net profit surging 67.8% to ₹457 crore compared to ₹272 crore in the previous year. According to The Financial Express, the company's revenue from operations grew 14.3% to ₹3,430 crore, while EBITDA increased 50.9% to ₹705 crore with margins expanding to 20.5% from 15.6%. The company's gross profit margin improved by 530 basis points to 48.6%, reflecting the benefits of its premium product mix strategy. Revenue growth is being outpaced by growth in gross profit and EBITDA, which is indicative of the benefit it is getting from its changing product mix.
The company's strategic shift toward premium products has shown remarkable results, with Prestige & Above (P&A) portfolio volumes growing 35.8% to 10.5 million cases in H1FY27. As reported by The Financial Express, P&A now accounts for 53.4% of Radico's own volumes compared to 42.5% in H1FY26, while Regular & Others category volumes declined 12.5%. This premiumisation strategy has enabled the company to achieve higher gross margins and profitability as premium bottles sell at significantly higher prices than regular products. The company's Magic Moments vodka brand sold 6.21 million cases in the first half, with Q2 volumes growing 49% year-on-year. Radico estimates its share of India's vodka market at around 60%, with its growing presence in the vodka category supporting the shift towards higher-priced products.
Radico Khaitan has significantly improved its financial position by reducing net debt from a peak of ₹771 crore to just ₹175 crore. According to The Financial Express, the company's Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) has consistently increased to 29.4% in Q2FY27 over the last 12 quarters. This combination of higher operating returns and stronger balance sheet provides greater financial flexibility for capacity expansion and premium portfolio investment. The company's Magic Moments vodka brand sold 6.21 million cases in the first half, with Q2 volumes growing 49% year-on-year. There is also a category risk as brown spirits, particularly whisky, continue to dominate India's liquor market, with vodka accounting for just 6.3% of industry volumes though this is up from 4.6% a year ago.
While Radico Khaitan demonstrated strong execution, Allied Blenders & Distillers showed mixed results with net profit declining 4.2% to ₹114 crore despite revenue growth of 10.9% to ₹2,135 crore. As reported by The Financial Express, EBITDA margin contracted 60 basis points to 12.3% due to supply chain disruptions from the West Asia crisis, which resulted in a ₹53 crore impact. However, excluding this exceptional impact, management indicated that EBITDA would have been ₹316 crore, representing 27.1% growth, with margins closer to 15%. The company's P&A segment achieved 14.7% sales growth driven by 8.3% volume growth and 5.9% realization improvements, though ROCE fell to 18.4% from 19.7% year earlier. Allied Blenders is looking at ROCE of 23-25% by FY28 and an EBITDA margin of around 18%.
According to The Financial Express, Radico Khaitan trades at a trailing P/E of 68.4, below its 5-year median of 82.2, while Allied Blenders has a trailing P/E of 83.9, higher than the five-year median of 75.6. The analysis indicates that Radico's valuation is better supported by recent earnings growth in recent quarters, while Allied Blenders faces higher execution hurdles given its current margin pressures. Both companies are benefiting from India's premiumisation trend, but Radico's ability to convert premium product growth into sustained earnings momentum provides better justification for its current valuation. Unlike Radico Khaitan and Allied Blenders, whose growth strategies are largely centred on expanding their existing premium portfolios, Tilaknagar Industries is using acquisitions to transform its business, having acquired Imperial Blue from Pernod Ricard and expanding whisky's contribution to more than 65% of volumes.
