On Tuesday, India-based Pepsi bottler Varun Beverages (VARB.NS) reported a 69% quarterly profit growth on price increases and strong demand and announced it would split each share into two.
The first quarter ending March 31 saw a combined net profit of 4.29 billion rupees ($52.46 million), up from 2.54 billion a year earlier.
Varun Beverages, PepsiCo’s No.2 international franchisee, bottles and distributes Pepsi, Mirinda, and Tropicana drinks in Gurugram.
Aquafina’s consolidated revenue from operations rose nearly 38% to 39.53 billion rupees on price hikes and “robust volume growth,” according to an exchange filing.
As India had its hottest February and restaurant and bar sales increased post-pandemic, demand for cold drinks increased.
Varun Beverages divided its shares 1:2 to increase liquidity and make them “more attractive” to small investors.
“The board recommended the split of existing equity shares of the company from one equity share having a face value of 10 rupees each into two equity shares of 5 rupees each,” Chairman Ravi Jaipuria stated.
Shares set a new high earlier in the session after rising more than 11-fold since their 2016 launch.
At 1,450 rupees, the stock was up 10% this year.
