Rajeev Suresh Samant, Managing Director and CEO of Sula Vineyards, has increased his stake in the company through open market purchases. According to disclosures available under the "insider trading" section on stock exchanges, Samant acquired 1.15 lakh shares on February 12 and 13, 2026. Following the transaction, the promoter holding in the company has risen to 24.5%, up from 24.3% at the end of December 2025. This marks the first instance of a promoter stake increase since Sula Vineyards' IPO in December 2022, signaling renewed promoter confidence in the company's prospects and long-term growth trajectory.
India's largest winemaker reported a sharp decline in net profit for the fifth consecutive quarter for the three months ended December 31, citing one-time tactical destocking in Karnataka as the key reason for the weak performance. Net profit fell 67.6% year-on-year to ₹9.1 crore, compared with ₹28 crore in the same period last year. Revenue declined 9.7% YoY to ₹195.7 crore from ₹216.6 crore a year earlier. Operating performance also deteriorated significantly, with EBITDA dropping 40.2% YoY to ₹31.8 crore from ₹52.2 crore in the year-ago quarter, leading to a contraction in EBITDA margin to 16.3%, down from 24.6% in the corresponding period last year.
Commenting on the results, Rajeev Samant said, "Q3 was a challenging quarter, with performance primarily impacted by one-time tactical destocking undertaken in Karnataka, our second-largest market, with the objective of right-sizing channel inventory and optimising working capital amid subdued demand in Bengaluru. Excluding the one-time destocking impact, our Q3 revenue was in line with last year." The company's wine tourism segment emerged as a bright spot, registering 34% year-on-year growth after at least five quarters of subdued performance, positioning it as a promising growth driver for the company.
Sula Vineyards' share price has had a rough start to 2026, declining nearly 20% in less than 2 months. Despite the recent promoter activity and positive wine tourism growth, the stock performance reflects broader market challenges facing the winemaker. The company's ability to navigate tactical destocking impacts and maintain long-term growth prospects will be key factors for future investor confidence.
