Allied Blenders & Distillers (ABD), maker of the Officer’s Choice whisky brand, is accelerating investments across its manufacturing network as it positions itself for its next phase of growth, managing director Amar Sinha told FE in an interaction. The company is targeting revenue of about Rs 5,500 crore and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of nearly Rs 1,000 crore by FY28, driven by premiumisation, capacity expansion and operational efficiencies.
In FY26, ABD reported consolidated revenue of Rs 3,949 crore and consolidated Ebitda of Rs 568 crore.
Rs 1,000 Crore Capex to Drive
The company has earmarked a Rs 1,000-crore capital expenditure programme, of which around Rs 350 crore has been deployed. The remaining Rs 650 crore will be invested over the next two years to expand bottling capacity and strengthen backward integration.
“The capital expenditure is spread across multiple states, including Telangana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh,” Sinha, who took over as MD in April, said.
Besides expanding bottling infrastructure, the company will also commission its single-malt whisky plant at Rangapur in Telangana. “The malt plant will become operative in the second half of FY27. This will not only help us build in-house malt production capabilities but also strengthen our premium spirits portfolio,” Sinha said.
The investment programme comes as ABD steps up its premiumisation strategy despite near-term macroeconomic headwinds stemming from the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
Navigating Q1 Profitability Headwinds
In the first quarter of FY27, the company reported consolidated revenue of Rs 984 crore, up 5.8% year-on-year. Consolidated net profit declined 18.6% year-on-year to Rs 45.42 crore as supply-chain disruptions, higher packaging costs and increased advertising and promotional spends weighed on profitability. Ebitda remained flat at Rs 120 crore after taking a Rs 24-crore hit from global supply-chain disruptions and investments in the super-premium ABD Maestro portfolio. Ebitda margins contracted 55 basis points year-on-year to 12.2%.
According to Sinha, the capacity expansion will be supported by multiple structural drivers, including benefits arising from the India-UK free trade agreement and a steady pipeline of premium product launches over the next few years. Sinha also indicates that the secular trend of premiumisation remains intact within liquor despite state-level pricing and excise policies. The company counts markets such as Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra among its key markets.
The company expects gross margins to improve to more than 48% and Ebitda margins to expand to 18-20% over the next two years, compared with an Ebitda margin range of about 12-14% now.
Among plans for this year include the relaunch of Sterling Reserve V7, a premium whisky; a refresh of the Officer’s Choice franchise and a likely entry into the premium vodka category later this year.
While Sinha expects the industry to remain affected by geopolitical and input-cost pressures in the September quarter, he said the second half of FY27 would likely see stronger momentum driven by festive demand, premiumisation and the benefits of ongoing investments in manufacturing.