Company Profile
Tilaknagar Industries Ltd. (TI) was incorporated in July 1933. The company is primarily engaged in the manufacturing and sale of Indian-made Foreign Liquor. The company has a diverse product portfolio of brands with various varieties of liquors such as brandy, whisky, vodka, gin and rum. Its brand portfolio holds 15 brands across all the aforementioned liquor categories. Its products are sold under the brand names ~ Mansion House Brandy, Courrier Napoleon Brandy, Madiraa, Mansion House Whisky and Senate Royale Whisky. The company is a market leader in Brandy with a market share of 19.6% as of FY23.
The Company has a strong distribution network across the country; selling primarily through state corporations and direct sales and distributors. It also exports its products to East and South-East Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.
The company has ultra-modern manufacturing facilities set up with 4 owned facilities and 16 contract manufacturing units spread across 12 states in India, with the mother plant located at Shrirampur, Ahmednagar District.
Investment Rationale
Market Leader in Brandy Business with ~ 19.6% share
The company is betting big on the growing prominence of brandy in the Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) market. According to the company, brandy sales are expected to be close to 20-22 percent of the overall IMFL industry, which is in the range of 70-75 million cases in the current financial year. The share of Brandy together as a percentage of total revenues as on 31st March 2023 is 93%. Under this Mansions House Brandy is a flagship brand of the company. The mansion is also the highest-selling Brandy brand in India as per IWSR. Mansion House Brandy sold more than 7.8 million cases in FY23, a growth of 41 percent over FY22 volumes.
Strengthening presence in non-southern States
Tilaknagar Industries (TI) currently drives 86 percent of its sales from the southern markets. It plans to increase the revenue contribution from other markets like North and North-East in the current financial year. Currently, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry, and Tamil Nadu are prominent markets in southern India.
New product launches
The company will be launching its new premium products Mansion House Reserve, the premium variant of its flagship brand, Mansion House, and its French Style flavored premium brandy (Flandy) into new markets in the next financial year.
Currently, Flandy is available in Telangana, and Puducherry and will soon be launched in Sikkim. Its Mansion House Reserve is available only in Tamil Nadu for now. The company said it is deliberating on the other markets that it can launch the products in.
Debt restructuring
TI had initiated debt restructuring after the company faced difficulties due to a highly-leveraged balance sheet. So far, the company has reduced its debt from Rs.1,200 crores in March 2019 to Rs.184 crores as of March 2023. Apart from debt reduction, TI has also raised Rs.311 crores through three preferential issues over the past 15 months. There has been a 13% dilution in the promoter holding in the company. Given the strong cash flows, being generated through operations along with the reduction in finance costs, TI does not foresee a requirement to raise any further equity.
Ultra-modern resource facility
The company has 4 owned facilities and 16 contract manufacturing facilities, set up with ultra-modern resources. The company's mother facility is located in Shrirampur, Ahmednagar District. TI also has a 100 KLPD grain-based distillery and a 100 KLPD molasses-based distillery in Shrirampur.
Q1 FY24 Financial Performance
Tilaknagar Industries reported stellar earnings for the quarter ended Q1FY24. Consolidated net sales rose 32% to Rs.304 cr against Rs.230 cr in the same quarter of corresponding fiscal led by healthy volume growth of 42% in brandy volumes. Consolidated EBITDA witnessed a growth of 77% to Rs.38 cr YoY. EBITDA margins expanded 300 bps compared to last year at 12.5% in Q1FY24. PAT grew manifold to Rs.26 cr YoY aided by healthy topline growth and solid operational performance.
Risk & Concerns
Regulatory Risk
The IMFL (Indian-made foreign Liquor) industry is a high-risk industry primarily on account of the high taxes and innumerable regulations governing it. As a result, liquor companies suffer from low pricing flexibility and have underutilised capacities, which, in turn, lead to low margins.
Procurement Risk
Inflationary tailwinds lead to hikes in raw material prices raw materials e.g. molasses and grains or packing materials e.g., glass, and packaging materials may impact the operating margins and profitability of the company. Also, dependence on limited suppliers may expose the company to supply risk.
High Competition
The markets of the IMFL industry are dynamic in nature and are rapidly evolving. Over the past 10 years period in order to boost domestic businesses in this industry-government has eased the barriers to entry rules, which has allowed many competitors to enter these markets. Growing consumer demand and new tastes & preferences in the industry are also one of the reasons for increased competition.
Outlook & Valuation
The company is betting big on the growing prominence of brandy in the Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) market. The company has delivered a strong quarter in Q1 FY24 and we expect the growth to continue on account of expansion in the eastern part of the country & new product launches. Debt restructuring will improve profitability.
At a CMP of Rs 216, the stock is trading at 24x FY23 earnings and hence, we recommend buy rating for the stock.