New Delhi, Mar 19 (PTI) The domestic alcohol beverages (alcobev) industry is expected to grow at 8-10 per cent along with an improvement in margins, helped by a moderation of raw materials prices, a report said.

Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) companies are expected to witness 11-13 per cent revenue expansion supported by a preference towards premium products amid volume growth of 3-5 per cent on a high base of FY2024, the report by rating agency ICRA said.

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The revenue of the beer companies will witness a 9-11 per cent increase, helped by volume growth of 4-6 cent, the report said.

"ICRA expects beer to witness a good season in Q1 FY2025 in anticipation of a hot summer compared to the previous fiscal, which had encountered unseasonal rainfall," it said.

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Moreover, ICRA expects working capital requirements for the sample set companies to moderate in FY2024 and FY2025. In addition to that the funding requirements would also be lower in the backdrop of lower input prices led by correction in packaging costs.

"ICRA estimates revenue growth of 8-10% for its sample set of domestic alcohol beverages (alcobev) companies in FY2025," it said.

The industry operating profit margin (OPM) is also expected to expand by 50-100 bps in FY2025 due to moderation in input costs, primarily packaging materials such as glass bottles, it added.

However, it also added with the increase in minimum support price (MSP) and higher procurement rates for recent crop arrivals, the cost is expected to remain elevated over the next few months.

"Diversion of grains towards ethanol could also keep prices firm and lead to costlier extra neutral alcohol (ENA). However, prices of barley, which is the key raw material for beer, are expected to continue to be fairly stable," it said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)