Alcobrew Distilleries India Limited IPO

01At a glance

What the company does: makes and sells Indian-made foreign liquor, whisky, vodka, gin, rum and brandy, mostly in the prestige-and-above price segments, across 17 states and union territories (our count); it began by bottling for other brands at Dera Bassi, Punjab, in 2006 (DRHP p.27). Whisky was 76.54% of FY25 case volume (DRHP p.42).

Who pays it: state-run liquor corporations and wholesalers; the largest customer was 13.15% of FY25 revenue, the top five 53.89% and the top ten 60.19% (DRHP p.43).

Why it is raising money: ₹1,400.00 million to repay borrowings, ₹289.14 million for a visitor centre and new maturation hall at Gamber Valley, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, ₹247.80 million for marketing new product launches, and the rest for general purposes (DRHP p.28).

How fast it has grown: revenue after excise duty of ₹6,343 million in FY23, ₹7,799 million in FY24 and ₹7,874 million in FY25 (DRHP p.29).

The one thing to understand: a one-brand-led business that is shifting to pricier products. White & Blue fell from 62.35% of gross revenue in FY23 to 51.68% in FY25 while Golfer's Shot 18 Hole and Single Oak grew, and volumes fell 4% in FY25 as net realisation per case rose 5.5% (DRHP p.39, DRHP p.42, our arithmetic).

02The business, in plain words

A liquor company buys neutral spirit, blends, matures and bottles its brands, and sells them to state corporations and licensed wholesalers who supply retail shops; excise duty is a large part of the gross price.

A state beverages corporation places an order → Alcobrew bottles White & Blue and Golfer's Shot at its units → it delivers the cases → the corporation pays for the stock.

It sold 4.34 million cases in FY25 at a net realisation of ₹1,786.03 a case (DRHP p.42).

Earnings equation: Profit ≈ cases sold × (net realisation − spirit, glass and packaging cost) − marketing − interest. Gross margin was 47.79% and EBITDA margin 15.21% of net revenue in FY25 (DRHP p.42).

03Where the money comes from

Source: DRHP p.39.

04The growth record

Source: DRHP p.29, DRHP p.42, DRHP p.79. Gross revenue including excise was ₹16,150.13 million in FY25 (DRHP p.29).

05What the growth is made of

Price and mix, not volume. Cases sold were 4.10 million in FY23, 4.53 million in FY24 and 4.34 million in FY25, while net realisation per case rose from ₹1,535.28 to ₹1,786.03 (DRHP p.42). Gross margin rose from 43.69% to 47.79% over two years (DRHP p.42).

06Earnings quality

Operating cash flow over FY23 to FY25 was ₹472.10 million against profit of ₹1,843.06 million (our arithmetic, DRHP p.29, DRHP p.79). Working-capital days rose from 95.02 in FY23 to 126.45 in FY25 (DRHP p.42). Top ten suppliers were 61.91% of cost of goods in FY25 (DRHP p.31).

07The balance sheet

Source: DRHP p.29, DRHP p.42.

08What the money is for

Source: DRHP p.28.

09Who is selling

Source: DRHP p.28, and the cover page. The shares offered are 11.69% of the company's equity (our arithmetic).

10Promoters

The promoters are Romesh Pandita, Veena Pandita and the Romesh Pandita Family Trust, who with three family members own all the shares (DRHP p.27, DRHP p.28). One regulatory proceeding is pending against the promoters (DRHP p.30). Remuneration to Romesh Pandita and Veena Pandita together rose from ₹23.10 million in FY23 to ₹29.20 million in FY25 (our arithmetic, DRHP p.32).

11Who already owns it

Source: DRHP p.28.

12What changed just before the IPO

• Brand mix: White & Blue down to 52% of revenue (DRHP p.39).
• Volumes: down 4% in FY25 (DRHP p.42).
• Cash: operating cash flow turned positive after an FY23 outflow (DRHP p.79).
• Bonus: a bonus issue of one share for every one held, 77,000,000 shares in all, on 23 August 2025, doubling the share count to 154,000,000; it was the last allotment before the offer (DRHP p.91).
• Auditor: Lavlesh & Associates resigned on 5 April 2024 and S S Kothari Mehta & Co. LLP was appointed on 16 April 2024 (DRHP p.83).
• Public company: the company became a public limited company in March 2022 (DRHP p.3).

13Capacity and expansion

A bottling unit at Dera Bassi, Punjab, and a distillation and bottling unit, with maturation at Gamber Valley, Solan (DRHP p.27, DRHP p.28, DRHP p.31). The proceeds fund a new maturation hall and a visitor centre there (DRHP p.28).

14Market size and industry structure

The industry report cited in the offer document puts India's alcoholic-beverage industry at about ₹3,550 billion in FY2025 and projects about ₹5,793 billion by FY2028, and describes a market fragmented by state excise and licensing rules (DRHP p.27). Those projections are the report's, and newboard has not tested them.

15Competitive position

What the document claims, and what it rests on:

• Established whisky brands in the prestige segment (DRHP p.27, DRHP p.39).
• Premiumisation: faster growth in pricier labels (DRHP p.39).

Against that: dependence on a few brands and state customers, state price controls, licensing and tax changes, and concentration in northern India (DRHP p.31).

16Peers the company named

Source: DRHP p.117. The table also lists Piccadily Agro Industries (P/E 65.90); the peers' average P/E is 71.02 (DRHP p.116, DRHP p.117).

No P/E is possible for the company until a price band is set.

17Risks, in plain words

• Raw materials. Ten suppliers were 62% of costs (DRHP p.31).
• Regulation. Licences, excise and state pricing rules (DRHP p.31).
• Brands. Two whisky brands dominate revenue (DRHP p.39).
• Customers. Ten customers were 60% of revenue (DRHP p.31).
• Region. Operations concentrated in northern India (DRHP p.31).

18Litigation and regulatory matters

Source: DRHP p.30.

19Related-party transactions

Not read in detail for this study.

20What the offer document does not say

In the sections read for this study, the document does not give:

• Which states provide most revenue, in the pages read.
• What the ₹524.98 million of tax and regulatory claims concern, in the pages read.
• What the 56 criminal cases filed by the company are, in the pages read.
• Which new products the ₹247.80 million of marketing will launch, in the pages read.
• The price band, lot size or issue dates, which is normal at DRHP stage.

21Five questions for management

1. Why did case volumes fall in FY25, and is White & Blue losing share?
2. Which states and corporations are the top five customers?
3. What are the 16 tax cases and two regulatory actions worth ₹525 million?
4. How long do state corporations take to pay, given working-capital days of 126?
5. Why fund a visitor centre from offer proceeds?

1Sources and cited facts

This study was read from 1 document the company filed. The 49 figures it cites are listed under the document each came from, with the page and the sentence as printed.