Allied Blenders and Distillers Limited — Q2 FY26 earnings call

this investment will add roughly Rs. 30 crores plus to our gross margins, translating to about 75 basis points, let's say, on current year volume. So that's the impact on our gross margin and absolute EBITDA in terms of the contribution that this unit will make. Secondly, on economies of scale, we do not have any disadvantage on economies of scale because the PET manufacturing is not centralized unlike the glass bottle manufacturing. PET manufacturing is fairly decentralized. So we have enough scale because we are producing 600 million bottles at this facility.

Clarifies the direct financial benefit (margin improvement) and addresses concerns about scale disadvantage for in-house PET production.

Asked by Abneesh Roy

No. This is not just as far as Telangana is concerned, on back of the licenses because the retailers are pretty much buying what is getting sold. So this has impacted all segments, not just Mass Premium. Now the good news is that the lottery has been concluded. The new owners have been identified. And from 1st December, this will be business back as usual. And the pipeline correction that has happened, we see significant part of the pipeline correction to correct itself in the month of December itself. So we are gearing up to meet that demand. Mostly, it will normalize in Q3. That is right.

Provides a clear timeline for market normalization in Telangana (Q3 FY26) and confirms receipt of some overdue payments, indicating progress on a key regional challenge.

Asked by Nitin

First is that Indian consumers are now happy consuming, serving and gifting Indian brands. And that is the trend that you will see across the entire F&B and many other consumer categories. And therefore, consumers are giving Indian brands as much a chance that they will give to an international brand. So that one barrier is removed. There is, in fact, a positive bias for Indian brands. So consumers are happy trying Indian brands. The second thing is that launching a brand in the Luxury segment is required, but it also needs continuous flavour offerings to be made to the consumer.

Highlights the strategic shift in consumer preference towards Indian brands and the importance of continuous product innovation for success in the premium segments.

Asked by Abneesh Roy

If you look at the industry construct, the industry is about 400-odd million cases, of which 160 million is what we call as the P&A or the Prestige price point. Of this 120 million cases is whisky and about 40 million cases is brandy and vodka. The way we are architecting our portfolio strategy is with SRB7, ICONIQ and OC Blue, continue to get market shares from the 120 million case whisky Prestige market and introduce brand in the Prestige brandy and the Prestige vodka segment.

Explains the broader portfolio strategy beyond ICONIQ White, aiming for market share across whisky, brandy, and vodka in the Prestige segment, indicating a diversification approach.

Asked by Ishaan

So our master blender has visualized as to what kind of a single malt profile we would launch in 2029. That is when we are targeting our single malt to come out. And right from distillation to maturation to the kind of cask, the maturation will happen. I think that blueprint is already ready. So quite excited about bringing our single malt in 2029.

Provides a long-term vision and specific launch year (2029) for the single malt, emphasizing authenticity and a well-thought-out strategy for a premium product.

Asked by Yash Bajaj

It's just about 5 million cases, shade under 5 million cases. So as far as domestic markets are concerned, our national rollout got finished sometime November, December last year with opening up of Andhra and Delhi. So with that, we have finished or concluded the rollout domestically. International market, we are currently in about eight markets. We believe this brand has relevance across 25, 30 markets.

Quantifies ICONIQ White's H1 FY26 volume and outlines its domestic and international distribution status, indicating continued expansion potential.

Asked by Sanjay Manyal

The markets where we have removed mono carton, there is no impact. I think numbers speak for themselves. We did about 5.7 million cases all of last year. We've already done 4.9 million cases in H1. So the brand continues to grow organically. I think what is really working well for the brand is what we would call in classical marketing term is word of mouth. On the mono carton removal, you will recall I said within 12 months of launch we removed. Our last market of launch for November and December last year. So it's really Andhra and Delhi. So by December, the entire exercise of mono carton removal will be concluded.

Confirms the successful and impact-free removal of mono cartons, contributing to profitability, and provides a timeline for its full implementation across all markets.

Asked by Kunal Shah

No. We will need to borrow the balance capex for this financial year. But the way we have planned our borrowing is to make sure that it is well within all the key ratios that we have internally agreed as and the growth must be driven within certain KPIs. So all the borrowing is keeping those KPIs in mind. But we'll have to do a bit of all. This question is for next year because this last year dividend has been paid out this year. So I think we'll address this question at the right time.

Management confirms borrowing for capex but assures adherence to financial ratios, while deferring specific dividend payout guidance to the next year.

Asked by Nitin