Varun Beverages Limited (VBL) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to the Varun Beverages Limited Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Anoop Poojari from CDR India. Thank you, and over to you, sir.

Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us on Varun Beverages Q1 CY 2025 Earnings Conference Call. We have with us Mr. Ravi Jaipuria, Chairman of the company; Mr. Varun Jaipuria, Executive Vice Chairman of the company; and Mr. Raj Gandhi, President and Whole-Time Director of the company. We will initiate the call with opening remarks from the management, following which we'll have the forum open for a question-and-answer session. Before we begin, I would like to point out that some statements made in today's call may be forward-looking in nature, and a disclaimer to this effect has been included in the results presentation shared with you earlier. I would now request Mr. Ravi Jaipuria to make his opening remarks.

Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us on our earnings conference call. I hope all of you have had the opportunity to go through our results presentation that provides details of our operational and financial performance for the first quarter ended 31st March 2025. We are pleased to report a strong operational and financial performance in the first quarter of CY 2025. Consolidated sales volume grew by 30.1% year-on-year, driven by healthy organic volume growth of 15.5% in India. The integration of the South Africa territory has progressed well with focused efforts on strengthening on-ground infrastructure, streamlining operations and enhancing execution across the market. We achieved 141 million cases in South Africa over the trailing 4 quarters, marking a growth of 13% over the same period last year. Historically, net realization in South Africa are lower due to a higher mix of own brands. However, we are actively working to scale PepsiCo portfolio, which is expected to support improvements in realization and margins going forward. We recently commenced operations at our new greenfield production facilities in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh and Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, significantly enhancing capacity currently with the peak summer season. The implementation of other 2 greenfield production facilities scheduled for 2025 season in Bihar and Meghalaya is on track and shall commence the commercial production very soon. Additionally, we have established backward integration facilities in Prayagraj and DRC, further strengthening our operational backbone and supply chain efficiency. Building on our nascent presence in the snack food segment, we have initiated the distribution and sale of PepsiCo snack products in Zimbabwe and Zambia. These markets present a significant growth opportunity within the packaged food category, supporting our focus on portfolio expansion across high potential regions. In line with our dividend policy, the Board of Directors has approved an interim dividend of 25% of face value, that is INR 0.50 per share, resulting in a total cash outflow of approximately INR 1,691 million. Looking ahead, we see immense headroom for growth in India's beverage market, supported by rising per capita income, accelerating urbanization, expanding electrification and improving cold chain infrastructure. With adequate capacities in place, a diversified product portfolio and a strengthened distribution network, we remain well positioned to capitalize on these opportunities and deliver sustainable value to all stakeholders. I would now invite Mr. Gandhi to provide the highlights of the operational and financial performance. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good afternoon, and a warm welcome to everyone joining us today on the investors call. Let me provide an overview of the financial performance for the quarter ended 31st March 2025. Revenue from operations adjusted for excise and GST grew by 28.9% year-on-year to the level of INR 55,669 million in the Q1 of calendar year 2025. Consolidated sales volumes increased by 30.1% to the level of INR 312.4 million cases as compared to INR 240.2 million cases of the corresponding period, that is Q1 of the calendar year 2024. This growth was supported by strong organic volume growth of 15.5% in India and inorganic contributions from South Africa and DRC. In India, realization per case improved by 1.8%, while it remained stable across international markets, excluding South Africa. At the consolidated level, however, due to lower per case realization in South Africa, the blended consolidated net realization for the company at the consolidated per case declined by 0.9%. CSD constituted 75% of the total volumes, while noncarbonated beverages and packaged drinking water contributed 7% and 18%, respectively. Aligned with our growing focus on healthier beverages, the mix of the low sugar/no-sugar products increased to 59% on a consolidated basis of the total sales volumes in calendar year 2025 Q1. Due to relatively lower margin profile of owned brands in the South African market and the higher mix of CSD in India, gross margins stood at 54.6%, a decline of 171 basis points as compared to Q1 of the calendar year 2024. EBITDA increased by 27.8% in Q1 of 2025 to the level of INR 12,639.6 million compared to the INR 9,887.6 million in Q1 of 2024, broadly in line with net revenue growth. EBITDA margins in India improved by 111 basis points, driven by operational efficiencies resulting from strong volume growth. At the consolidated level, margins declined marginally by 20 basis points due to lower profitability in South Africa market, where margins currently stand at 14.4%, and it's a higher contribution to the overall performance during the quarter. Depreciation increased by 45.3% during the quarter, primarily due to the commissioning of 3 new plants last year, which were Supa, Gorakhpur and Khordha and -- which were not part of the first quarter, which is a base quarter for this year. The inclusion of operations from South Africa and DRC during the current period also contributed to the increase. Post repayment of debt through QIP proceeds, finance cost in India is negligible, and there is an interest income of INR 108 million during the quarter. Interest cost in international markets is primarily in South Africa, which also includes the lease rentals under the Accounting Standard 116 of INR 86 million as the manufacturing facilities in South Africa are on lease. PAT for Q1 calendar year 2025 increased by a healthy 33.5% year-on-year to INR 7,313.6 million, driven by volume growth and lower finance costs. Lastly, I'm pleased to share that CRISIL has upgraded our long-term credit rating to CRISIL AAA stable. This reflects the strength of our balance sheet, strong governance and consistent performance across key metrics. As we enter the peak season, we remain focused on sustaining and accelerating our strong growth. Our strategic investments across greenfield and brownfield capacities, backward integration and network expansion are strengthening our execution capabilities and operational efficiencies. These efforts are reinforcing the foundation for sustained long-term growth, and we remain confident in our ability to execute effectively and deliver consistent performance and value to all stakeholders. On that note, I come to an end of the opening remarks and would like to now ask the moderator to open the forum for any questions or suggestions that you may have. Thank you.

[Operator Instructions] The first question is from the line of Aditya Soman from CLSA.

2 questions from me. Firstly, any sort of early trends from the recent launches you've made of Sting Gold or of the sort of lower price point pack of Gatorade, especially as we head into summer, we've seen that you've increased capacity. So any sort of sense on how these new products are doing will be very useful. And the second question, in your presentation, you highlight that one of the reasons for the sort of gross margin impact has been the higher CSD share in India. Could you please elaborate on why that has impacted gross margin? And secondly, is there also an impact in this because of the water cost that has shifted, you had indicated sometime back from other expenses to COGS?

So first of all, as far as the new launch of Sting and Gatorade, I think it's still very early. It's very nascent. It's just been launched recently. So I think we need to wait a couple of months to see what the reaction of the market is. But it has been accepted well. And it's -- as I said, it's a bit too early. And as soon as maybe the next quarter, we'll have more answers and then we'll be able to give you. For the margins, Mr. Gandhi will...

The gross margin, Aditya, you very rightly pointed out, yes, the water cost has shifted to the direct cost from the cost as a part of EBITDA. And secondly, the mix has changed. We had focused on CSD, which has helped realization per case and which has also resulted in EBITDA increase and per case realization increase. But at the gross margin level, yes, it's just a shifting, you can say, because the focus was on CSD more. And the thirdly, the smaller packs, the contribution of those has gone up than the larger packs. So all these things slightly increase in the COGS, however, resulting into higher per case realization and higher EBITDA margin in absolute terms.

That's clear. Maybe just on that, so are we alluding that the CSD gross margins are slightly lower than the overall system average?

The margins are higher. realization is higher. Percentage looks slightly lower because if the realization is 3x and with the same percentage-wise, it expands dramatically in case of this thing. Last -- we used to give an example when in a smaller pack where the blended cost is higher, that's why which helped us increasing the revenue as well as the percentage of margin. So the margin definitely in CST is higher.

I'm sorry, I think we lost you at the first portion of your answer.

So if any particular thing you want to know, I can repeat. Okay. Let me just reiterate the main thing in this. Margin in case of CSD definitely is higher because realization is around 3x in case of CSD. So margin is higher. Secondly, there is a bit of shifting because in the case of CSD, there is a concentrate cost. Here, there is no concentrate, but royalty, which sits below the gross margin. Is that clear, Aditya?

Yes, that's very clear.

The next question is from the line of Vismaya Agarwal from Citigroup. Mr. Vismaya, can you hear?

Maybe you can take the next question, please.

The next question is from the line of Percy Panthaki from IIFL.

Just wanted to ask regarding the competitive intensity with the new entrant who has come. Just wanted to ask what is the thought process there on the parts of the value chain we do not control, which is the ad spend mainly, which basically rests with Pepsi? So in your conversations with Pepsi, what is the thought process there? Is it that there is an irrational amount of ad spend going on, and we do not want to participate in that irrationality? Or is it that whatever is happening, we need to match that and maintain share of voice? Because ultimately, even though you don't control this, this will affect your sales and profits.

I think the question is we are spending what we have been spending earlier also. So -- and as the volumes are growing, we are spending more money than what we were spending earlier. So we are spending our share. Some people decide to spend on one category, we decide to spend on maybe other categories. So they have decided to spend more money on IPL, which we have not chosen this year. One year, we chose IPL. So it depends what you choose and how you go forward with it. But I mean -- and they are just entering the market. So I guess they need the people to know more about their products. So we can't argue on that. But I don't think we have any issue in -- we are spending our bit and the market is accepting it. And we are quite happy with the volumes, with the numbers which are happening. So we are -- I mean, there will be always a little bit up and down with competition coming.

Sure. Understood. And just wanted to understand how is the summer season going on thus far? I mean, are we seeing the same kind of growth trajectory in April, what we have seen in 1Q?

See, we never go month-on-month. We have always stood by that we will grow double digits in the year. And that is what we stick by because each month is different and weather patterns completely change each month. So we cannot plan on month-to-month. Sometimes the rains are earlier, sometimes the rains are later. So all we have said every year, and we stick to that we will have double-digit growth, which we are seeing happening, and we are quite comfortable with that.

Sure. And last question is on the India margins. So last year, we were at about 25.5% margin. This quarter also, we are close to about 25% margin. However, in the previous calls, you have mentioned that for India margins, we would be comfortable defending like 21% kind of a number. So how should we read this as financial analysts? Should we read it as there's a possible 400 basis points margin compression in the future? Or is it that you're being overly conservative with that number?

I think you can look at it how you like. I have never said that we will -- 21% in soft drink industry is a very good margin. So we have stuck to that, and we keep trying and making sure that we achieve better than that. As we are doing backward integration and expanding into bigger plants, we expect our margins to do better than that, but we don't give a guideline of more than 21%.

The next question is from the line of Darshit Vora from Asit C Mehta Investments.

Am I audible?

Sorry to interrupt, sir. I would request you to please use your handset. Your audio is not clear.

Am I audible?

You are clear now.

So I had a couple of questions. The first one would be, so from like the calendar year '20 to '22, we have been seeing India margins were lower than international margins by around 300 to 400 basis points. Now this reversed in calendar year '23. So in this scenario, India margins improved. So what do we see like going ahead? Do we see the India margins coming back to how they were before?

India margins are doing well, as we said in my last question also that as we are putting new plants, bigger plants and we are going backward integrated, the India margins are improving. But as a guidance, we don't give more than 21% guideline. On the international market, we've had a couple of challenges, which one was that in this quarter, Ramzan was earlier, so Morocco had a little bit of hit because of that. Secondly, because of sugar tax in Zimbabwe, the volumes came down, and they are now coming back. So from this quarter onwards, we expect the volumes to come back to normal. And South Africa, we had always said that the margins are lower because 80%, 85% of the volumes were our homegrown brands. And there, the margins are lower. So we are slowly building those margins and increasing the sales of high-margin products, which will take a little bit of time, not even 6 months, 1 year, but a little longer, but margins are improving in South Africa, and we are getting good growth there.

All right. But then like do we see them coming close to or surpassing the domestic margins as of now in the near future?

It won't -- in near future is very -- we have to do completely backward integration. It's a couple of years process. It's not going to happen overnight.

Correct. Okay. But it can probably come close to the domestic margin?

It can come close to it. I mean it's -- yes.

Okay. That's helpful. And secondly, now that the Tanzania and Ghana agreements have terminated, will it impact -- like what kind of impact will it have on your growth aspirations in the African continent? And also that, do we have any update on some new geography that we might be going into an agreement for?

No, we will be always expanding and the paperwork could not be done in time for Tanzania and Ghana. So we have put it on hold. And depending on how the -- we are always looking for growth, and there will be growth opportunities coming in a lot of other countries, which we are always working with PepsiCo. And as they would like, we will go forward with it. So as soon as we have something concrete, we'll let you know.

The next question is from the line of Jay Doshi from Kotak.

Congratulations on good execution in India. My question is on South Africa now that you've handled the business taken over since about a year. Could you give us some overview on what are the areas where you're tracking ahead of your expectations that you may have had a year ago in terms of volumes, distribution, profitability? Basically, how is it shaping up versus your base case assumptions? And if you could give us some color what we should expect over the next 4 quarters from that territory?

So I think South Africa is shaping up well. It's very difficult to judge first year, the business, we expected growth, which it has started growing. We are making sure that non-profitable packs are being discontinued, which is reducing our growth. And that is why it is taking longer and the growth actually on profitable packs is much higher than what we are showing because of our shutting down on the products which are not profitable. So it will take at least a year or 2 years to bring South Africa into fully -- but it's a large market. The growth opportunities are huge, and we are seeing very good salience, and I think it will be a very interesting market for us.

Sure. One small bookkeeping question. This quarter, you've called out South Africa margin of 14.4%, right? But I think there is seasonality, this is one of the stronger quarters. So on a more annualized basis, you stand now versus maybe I think at the time you acquired, it was about 11%, 11.5%. So if you could kind of on an adjusted for seasonality, what kind of improvement we've seen so far?

No,, it used to be 10-point odd percent, and we have reached 14%, and we are going to try that for the year, if we can maintain this 14%. But of course, as you said, last quarter was one of the better seasons. But I think we'll still be able to -- because we are making corrections going forward. So I think we'll be able to correct the margins and stick to this margin at least.

The next question is from the line of Vismaya Agarwal from Citi.

Sir, just a continuation on the previous question on South Africa. So at the time of the acquisition, the own brand salience was the larger chunk, Pepsi was just 15%. So if you could share some update on what's the salience now of own brands versus Pepsi? And also, if you could share the 13% volume growth for that business that you've called out? Any trends in own brands versus Pepsi there as well, please?

So our Pepsi brand sales are going up from 15%, it's close to 20% now. And all the products are growing, even our homegrown brands are growing and PepsiCo is growing faster. And at the same time, we are cutting down on some of the products which were non-profitable. So that is why the growths are looking more subdued than actually what they are.

Got it, sir. And sir, just one more on the India business. Now in terms of the realization per case that we see here, which is up 1.8% this quarter. And historically, you've maintained that the long-term trend should be closer to 2%. But I just wanted to get your thoughts on, is there some risk on this growth near term, next, say, 1 year or so, given the kind of consumer promotions that we've seen in the industry? Or do you think there are levers, mix perspective or any other that can help you?

Actually, it's very good for the industry. All these promotions are helping industry to grow. And as you see with the new entrants also and with our growth, so our growths are still stuck to the double-digit growth, which we have been saying and the new entrants are getting their fair share. So there is -- the market is still very underpenetrated, and there is huge room in India to grow.

Got it, sir. But sir, on the realization, so does it have an impact -- the promotions have an impact on the realization? Or you think that's still manageable with the mix?

It's very difficult to say. It will depend on quarter-to-quarter and some effect it could have, but I don't think it's a major issue. And I think our margins are decent enough. That's why we always predict -- we have never said we should be more than 21% margin. We are much higher than that. So if we ever need to, we have enough room to play.

The next question is from the line of Nitin Shakdher from Green Capital Single Family Office.

This is Nitin Shakdher from the Green Capital Single Family Office. Congratulations to the management on excellent set of numbers.

Your audio is not clear. Are you using your handset?

Yes.

Much better now, sir.

This is Nitin Shakdher from the Green Capital Single Family Office. Can you hear me?

Yes, yes. Go ahead, please.

Okay. So congratulations to the management on an excellent set of numbers. My question is more as an investor. What are you seeing in terms of a push from global PepsiCo into the India market? Is it that some volumes are moving up on sports, energy drinks like Gatorade and Sting and zero sugar versions of Pepsi? What has the shift been from the Indian consumer side more on to healthier options because that's the trend, even like newer sports in India are picking up like pickleball. So what's the brand like Varun Beverages and Pepsi doing to sort of look at the new wave of drinks and nutrition?

So hydration and energy are the fastest-growing categories, which we see happening and which is happening in -- and you see our energy drink is one of the largest in India. Secondly, our hydration drink, which is Nimbooz is growing at practically 100%, which is a fabulous growth. Our value-added dairies are growing at close to 100%. So the new categories are doing extremely well. And at the same time, there are enough newcomers who are entering the category and those regular categories are also growing. But the faster growth is coming from these categories.

So do you also see within Cream Bell, the zero sugar options picking up a lot more rather than the standard ice cream patterns? I mean what's the trend on the dairy?

No, I don't think zero sugar is -- India is ready for it. But I think mid-cal, which is what the Sting drink is our energy drink is, mid-cal is taking more popularity, and that is what is going to be coming over the next year or 2. Zero sugar is still a very small segment in this country.

The next question is from the line of Rishi Mody from Marcelus Investment Manager.

Can you hear me?

Yes, sir, we can hear you.

So the first question [indiscernible]

Sorry to interrupt you. You are not clear. I would request you to use your handset. Your audio is not clear.

Can't hear you clearly.

Sir, he disconnected. Due to no response from the current participant, we'll move on to the next participant. The next question is from the line of Mrunmayee Jogalekar from Asit C Mehta Investments.

Congratulations on a good set of numbers. Sir, my first question is to do with the DRC volumes, if you can quantify that for this quarter?

No, DRC has just started. So it's a bit too early to -- I mean, we are still progressing and it's a new country, new territory. So -- and we've had some challenges there. So I think DRC is still too early. I think maybe in the next quarter or 2 quarters, you'll really start seeing the country coming to life.

Okay. So in the previous, I think, a couple of quarters, we had a run rate of about 5 million to, say, 7 million cases. Would it be similar to that? Or as you mentioned, there were some challenges, so it was lower.

I don't think it was that large, but we are doing reasonably okay, and it's a bit early. I would say we would be doing very close to that, but there's not much -- I think it needs a little more time. I think we are still learning the country. So I think we need another quarter or 2 quarters before we can really start giving you the numbers on that.

Okay. Okay. And secondly, on the South Africa growth. So this year, you have seen a growth of 13%, which for the first year of operations is a very good growth. So are you expecting to accelerate this growth? And any specific internal targets you would have in terms of what kind of growth you would like to see here?

Internal targets, we always have. But every time you can't achieve all your internal targets. As I said -- mentioned earlier, we are very happy with the growth of South Africa, but the actual growth is not coming out because we are cutting down on some of the products which were non-profitable. So actual growth when it says 13% is actually much higher to what is actually showing because if we would have not cut down on the non-profitable packs. And we are very happy if we can continue this trajectory.

Okay. And the expansion of visi coolers will continue in South Africa?

Yes. I mean that's one of the only ways to grow this market -- soft drink market. Our go-to-market and visi coolers chilling equipment both have to go hand in hand.

The next question is from the line of Prashant Poddar from ADIA.

Can you hear me?

Yes, Prashant. We can hear you.

Fantastic work in continuing international markets. India market, especially, we've talked a lot about the new competition, but Coca-Cola is clearly the still more relevant competition for you. Can you -- you've not spoken about the competitive landscape much in the call. We have seen you introduce the light variants at low prices in March, I think. Also, Reliance has announced -- Campa has announced a large plant in, I think, Assam or somewhere. So can you help us understand this getting geographical proximity, for example, for Campa or Cola participating with new bottlers now -- new bottling promoters at least. Can you help us understand the overall macro in terms of competitive landscape, how this is evolving? And how have market shares been for the full year? If you can give us just some indication.

So I think the good part is competition is making all of us put more chilling equipment, more go-to-market, increasing our efforts. So I think the overall market is growing faster than it was growing over the years. And there is enough new entrants, which are coming at the lower price, which the competition is putting, which is helping the market to grow. And I think India is so lowly penetrated that as the competition heats up, I think the growth will come much faster, and there is enough room for everyone in this country. As we have said before, there are 12 million FMCG outlets. And I think we are going to about 4 million only. So still, there is so much room for everyone to add on outlets, go to it, put chilling equipment and the market will keep on growing. And in soft drink, obviously, whoever wants to compete, they have to go closer to the market because transporting water is not a viable proposition.

Yes. Yes. No, fair enough. And in terms of growth for the full last year, any indication how you would have done versus Coca-Cola?

Well, I think we have both grown. So exact numbers only Nielsen and Canadian would give you, but we have both grown and both done pretty well. And as I said, we have grown double digits and -- which is a very healthy growth on this scale. And we expect to continue doing that at [indiscernible].

Okay. And last question from my side, sir. In terms of inflation of key materials, which is packaging and sugar, et cetera, any thoughts -- any initial thoughts for the current year? How is it looking relative to...?

We don't see the raw material going up. Fortunately, for us, oil prices are not going up. So our packaging material pricing are quite stable or rather even slightly lower. Sugar slightly has gone up. So it balances out, and we are quite comfortable with our production costs.

The next question is from the line of Nilesh Shah from Julius Baer.

Are you able to hear me well?

Yes, sir.

Okay. Great. Sir, we have seen that over the last few months, you have launched the same sort of INR 20 pack with higher volume, right? And we are able to kind of see this product in quite a few states. So could you comment on 2 things? Sir, first, on a like-to-like basis, what would be the margin differential for you? Just asking for a rough range? And sort of number 2 point here, sir, is that is your partner or any of your sort of -- is your brand partner helping you in any way in making good of the margin gap that may be the case?

So if you see our margins have not come down. So clearly, we are not losing margins. And we keep on shifting from product to product. Last year, we had some other products which was upsized. This year, we have changed to some other flavors. So it's really not that we are adding a lot of bigger packs at the same price. Overall, percentage-wise, it's not much higher than what it was last year. And our margins are not getting -- and obviously, our parent companies are working with us. So our margins are not getting squeezed.

Okay. Okay. So -- Yes, just to extend this thought a bit more, now you are -- of course, the share is low because you have not rolled it out across all markets, which you spoke of in the last call. But if you kind of have to do that as Campa and other brands also expand nationwide and the salience both in terms of geography and of your volumes go up, you feel even then it will not have a significant hit on your margins per se. That's the right reason?

I don't see any major dips coming to our margins.

The next question is from the line of Sheela Rathi from Morgan Stanley.

Again, my question is around the competitive landscape. And also thanks for the clarification on margins. Just want to understand that in this environment where the brands as well as the top most competition for you all have been aggressive. Does it make sense for us to be more -- introduce more new products, pick up that pipeline much faster than what we have done in the past? Not necessarily in zero sugar products, but normal products, which cater to the Indian audience? And second is also -- and how are we kind of ensuring that we remain relevant? Are we focusing more on ATL spends or BTL spends? Or how are we kind of playing these 2 areas?

So I think the key way we are progressing is, one, increasing our go-to-market, which we have been doing every year. We have hastened that. We are putting more chilling equipment, which we were putting last year or year before. We are adding more chilling equipment so that we become more relevant to the outlets. And these 2 things help us substantially. And also, of course, our products are doing well. We have distinctive products, as I said, in energy, we are market leaders. In hydration, we are market leaders. And even in value-added dairy, we are doing extremely well. These categories are growing at -- practically apart from energy, our value-added dairy and our hydration category is growing practically at 100%. And so we are getting enough traction. And of course, we will keep on introducing new products, which is the right thing to do at the right time. We've introduced a new energy flavor, which is a malt-based flavor, which has just been launched in March. So we are -- it's being still penetrated in the market, and we need to see how well it does.

Understood. And the point on ATL and BTL spend?

No, ATL BTL spend keeps growing with the volumes, and we keep on spending and we have an understanding with our parent company that X amount will be spent out of the total revenues, which we continue to do.

Sorry, just one follow-up, sir. Is there any change here in terms of the trend, given the conversations around competition being aggressive, have we required to make any changes in [indiscernible]?

We are as aggressive. It's a different way somebody wants to be aggressive in some way. You have to be aggressive. That's why I said we have put much more chilling equipment this year, which we used to put. We have increased our go-to-market much more strongly. So everyone will take their own call what is right for them. And we are expanding our distribution. India has got 12 million outlets. We are going to 4 million. So there's so much room to expand for everyone.

The next question is from the line of Devanshu Bansal from Emkay Global.

Congrats on strong execution in last quarter. Sir, again, building on the marketing perspective, the competition is quite aggressive in terms of advertisement during major sporting events as well as large congregations like Kumbh Mela, right? You mentioned that, obviously, BTL, we are quite aggressive in terms of filling equipment as well as the banners that are there at the shops. But from a mass marketing perspective, which I guess is the brand's responsibility, so what is the strategy there from PepsiCo's side? So we are relatively -- this is my perception, but relatively, as of now, the word of mouth is relatively lower. So what's the strategy there?

Well, I think you are basing it because of 2 events which have happened. One is the Kumbh and the other is the IPL. So parent companies take certain call, which -- where they want to spend more money, what they want to do. So I think our spends have not come down. They are going up only. So I mean, if the competition wants to spend more, I can't control that. And this is a call where they want to put their money.

Understood, sir. Understood. So if the spends are remaining stable, then maybe we'll see during the season. Sir, second question is on the international front. So Zimbabwe sort of saw some moderation due to sugar tax last year. Now that it is in the base, you also indicated that from this quarter, things should improve. Just if you could help us understand what kind of a growth that we can expect on a low base in that particular geography?

I don't think we have a low base there. We are already more than 70% market share. So I mean, for a country population of 16 million, 17 million, our volumes are very high. We are doing extremely well there, and it's a very good market for us. And the problem which happened because we had to raise prices suddenly because of the sugar tax. That is getting absorbed now. And I think from this quarter, we expect it to come back to our normal. But huge growth, we are not expecting there.

Understood. And last, bookkeeping question. The Bihar and Meghalaya plants, when are they expected to sort of get commissioned? Is this like during current season or it will be after that?

Well, Bihar is getting started tomorrow actually. And so May 1, it's getting started and Meghalaya will be by the end of this month -- end of May.

The next question is from the line of Devesh Advani from Reliance General Insurance.

Congratulations on a good set of numbers. Actually, I wanted to ask how do you see the demand trends before peak summer season as in the month of April? And how do you see the top line and bottom line spanning going forward?

As I said, we keep -- we still believe that double-digit growths are very doable in this country with the expansion. And I think there's enough room for everyone to get a share of this market. This market is growing at a much faster pace. As more competition is coming in, more money is being spent, more chilling equipments are being put. I think the growth will be much faster in the category. And it is, I think, doing much better than the other FMCG categories. So I think overall, it's looking good. The rest depends partly on Weather Gods. The quarters -- each quarter can be a little different to -- so it's very difficult to say. But overall, for the year, we believe double-digit growths are very doable.

The next question is from the line of Rishi Mody from Marcellus Investment Manager.

Can you hear me now?

Yes, sir.

Yes. So I heard you saying that Coca-Cola has also grown healthily in Q1 CY '25. And it's been almost, I think, 6 years since we acquired the South and West business, a little more than 6 years, if I'm not wrong. So just wanted to understand how is our growth in the South and West India? Are we gaining market share? Or are we still at the same market share levels that we were at the time of acquisition?

Very difficult to say on that, but we are growing the market overall. And we've had growth in both the markets. So that's what I can say we are growing healthily in the South as well as West. The rest, Coke is -- I don't know their exact numbers. So my feedback is they're also doing well. I think the overall market is growing, as I said, in the country.

All right. Second, I wanted to understand, it's been almost a little over a year since Campa launched in Tamil Nadu, which is a dominant market for Pepsi. The [indiscernible] to have more than 10% market share in the regions that they have started operations. So just wanted to get your view on what...

I didn't hear you. Tamil Nadu, you are saying is a dominant market for Pepsi?

Yes, if I'm not wrong.

That's what your question was, sorry?

No. My question is, how is Campa doing in Tamil Nadu, which is a dominant market for you guys?

I don't know. But Tamil Nadu has always been a large B brand market. I mean, as large as Pepsi and Coke. So that's been a huge other brands market. That's the biggest market actually for the other brands. So it's very difficult to say. I mean, even if another brand comes in, it will mix into that. Very difficult to say. But overall, the markets are growing, so there's no issue.

All right. And finally, I just wanted to get your -- get an understanding on Sting. We haven't yet launched it in Africa, if I'm not wrong.

No we have launched in Africa. It's already available in the countries. It's already launched.

But is it as big contributor in Africa as India [indiscernible]?

No. I mean, some countries is doing extremely well. Some countries because of the pricing is not doing well because it depends on the local competition. And in South Africa, we have still not launched it.

The next question is from the line of Ashish Kumar from Ampersand Capital.

I just wanted to know what would be the CapEx spend for this year and what -- how it would be split between India and like South Africa, rest of the world?

We had given the guidance of INR 3,100 crores for this year, and we are on track and maybe INR 900 crores out of which is yet to be spent.

So in terms of geographical split?

Country-wise, we have the breakup. We will provide you offline.

The next question is from the line of Rajit Aggarwal from Nilgiri Investments Manager.

See, I'm sorry if this question is wrong or not supposed to be asked or has already been asked. But I was just wondering, I mean, any impact of the follow-off of the deal with Domino's? Any comments from your side?

No. No. I mean, of course, any account you lose is not good, but that was -- that had to happen. And I mean, we get other accounts. So it's -- any one account like that cannot make any overall difference to the whole. But obviously, as -- we would always like to have more and more.

Right. No, when you say that the growth will be consistent for this calendar year as well, so that expectation or that growth doesn't go tempered?

Domino's or one fast food cannot have any indication. I mean it's very small for the overall growth of the brand.

[indiscernible] Low single digits?

What is low single digit?

The volume from Domino's.

It was less than low single digits. I mean, much lower than that.

The next question is from the line of Ashish Aggarwal, who is an individual investor.

Yes. Am I audible?

Yes, sir.

Yes, you are.

So yes, my question is regarding Ghana and Tanzania. So we have kind of -- I just saw the presentation and we have kind of taken that out. So do we have any clarity of when we can -- the deal is on hold, that is what you've told. But do we have any clarity when we are going to have them on us or there are some other complications that are there?

No, there's no competition. It's just that we have not got the clearances what we were supposed to get. And in the African countries, till we get full clarity being a listed company, we are not going to take control of the company. So in case they are able to get it, then we look forward to it. In case they are not able to get it, we will not get into it. So this was a seller portion.

And how about the new energy drink that we were about to launch in before this season as well as the new variety of -- basically the [ Jira ] drink and the new energy drink that we were launching. Any updates on that?

Energy drink, we've launched in March, we launched a variant of Sting, which is a malt-based energy drink. It's just been put in the market. And I think we have to give it a month or 2 months before we'll get really the reaction. But initially, the reaction is good.

That is Sting Gold, right?

Yes, Ashish.

Yes. But there was another new drink that you were talking about in the last 2 quarters. Has there been any progress with that? Or we are not looking at for this year?

We will be launching -- every quarter, we look at something new or the other. So we will be launching new products, but not immediately, at least for the high summer.

Okay. And [ Jira ] drink?

We're still in the process of it, and I'm sure by next quarter, we'll launch it.

Ladies and gentlemen, that was the last question for today. I now hand the conference over to the management for closing comments.

Thank you. I hope we have been able to answer all your questions satisfactorily. Should you need any further clarifications or would like to know more about the company, please feel free to contact our Investor Relations team. Thank you once again for your interest and support for the taking time out to join us on this call. Look forward to interacting with you soon. Thank you very much.

Thank you. On behalf of Varun Beverages Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines.