United Spirits Limited, operating as Diageo India, increased its marketing expenditure by 31.1% year-on-year to ₹312 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2026 (Q1 FY27), up from ₹238 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. The aggressive brand investment drove advertising and promotion (A&P) costs up to 11.5% of net sales, compared with 9.3% in Q1 FY26.
The heightened marketing outlay put mild pressure on operating profitability, leading to a 30-basis-point contraction in the company’s EBITDA margin to 16%, down from 16.3% in Q1 FY26. Despite the margin squeeze, total EBITDA rose 4.1% to ₹432 crore. Net sales grew 6% year-on-year to ₹2,703 crore from ₹2,549 crore, even as overall sales volume dipped 3.4% to 14.47 million cases.
Diageo India achieved solid gross profit expansion of 11.2% to ₹1,246 crore, expanding its gross profit margin to 46.1% from 44.0%. Consolidated profit after tax (PAT) surged 51.6% to ₹391 crore, up from ₹258 crore in the year-ago period. The bottom-line jump was significantly aided by ₹222 crore in other income, which included a ₹150 crore dividend payout from its sports subsidiary, Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited.
Top-line performance continued to be driven by premiumization. The high-margin ‘Prestige & Above’ segment posted a 10.1% increase in net sales to ₹2,478 crore, accounting for 91.7% of total company revenues. In contrast, the lower-margin ‘Popular’ segment shrank 17.5%, with net sales falling to ₹206 crore from ₹250 crore in Q1 FY26.