Radico Khaitan’s premium spirits volume rose 35.8%, far outpacing its 2.8% total growth.

Radico Khaitan, one of India’s oldest and largest liquor companies, said its higher-priced spirits business grew sharply in the April-to-June quarter even as its overall case volume rose only modestly, a sign that growth in the Indian market is moving further toward premium brands.

In results published on July 29, the company said volume in its Prestige & Above portfolio rose 35.8% from a year earlier to 5.22 million nine-liter cases. Based on that growth rate, the comparable figure a year earlier was about 3.84 million cases, which means the company added roughly 1.38 million cases in the segment during the quarter, or about 12.4 million liters. Total spirits volume, by contrast, increased 2.8% to 10 million cases.

The gap shows how much faster Radico’s upper-end business is expanding than the rest of its portfolio. Premium volume grew by about 33 percentage points more than total volume, and the segment now accounts for 53.1% of the company’s own volume, up from 41.5% a year earlier. The category includes several types of spirits, including whisky, vodka, gin, brandy and rum, so the company’s disclosure does not show that the increase came from one specific distilled spirit.

The quarter covers the first period of Radico’s 2027 fiscal year and offers another measure of how India’s drinks market is changing. In recent years, local producers have been pushing consumers toward more expensive labels, betting on rising incomes, urban growth and demand from younger drinkers for more branded and more differentiated products. Radico’s latest numbers suggest that strategy is gaining traction faster than volume growth alone would imply.

Revenue from operations rose 11.8% to ₹1,683.7 crore. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, climbed 50.9% to ₹348.1 crore. EBITDA margin expanded by 536 basis points to 20.7%, the highest in the company’s history, according to management. Gross profit increased 27.7% to ₹826.8 crore. Net comprehensive income rose 70.5% to ₹225.4 crore, while earnings per share reached ₹16.88, ahead of analyst expectations cited by the company.

Radico said the improvement came from a combination of premiumization, operating discipline and more favorable raw-material conditions. Gross margin reached 49.1%, up 610 basis points from a year earlier. Management said part of that increase came from a benign raw-material environment, although it also pointed to roughly ₹30 crore in pressure from volatility in packaging costs.

The premium mix also changed the revenue profile of the business. Prestige & Above revenue increased 36.0% to ₹970.0 crore and made up 76.8% of the company’s Indian-made foreign liquor revenue, compared with 66.7% a year earlier. At the same time, volume in the company’s Regular & Others segment fell 15.1%. Radico said that decline reflected a high base from last year, when route-to-market changes in Andhra Pradesh and policy changes in Maharashtra and Karnataka affected shipment patterns.

For Indian producers, the shift matters because premium and luxury labels carry higher margins and often stronger brand loyalty than lower-priced mass products. Radico’s results show that the company was able to produce record quarterly volume, revenue and profitability at the same time, even without broad-based expansion across all parts of the portfolio.

Executives linked much of the quarter’s momentum to vodka and premium whisky. Abhishek Khaitan, the company’s managing director, said on the earnings call that vodka is gaining market share in India, rising to 6.1% from 4.6% in the comparable quarter a year earlier. He attributed that growth to changing consumer preferences, the category’s use in cocktails and stronger acceptance among younger drinkers.

Magic Moments, Radico’s flagship vodka brand, posted 43% volume growth in the quarter, reaching 3.25 million cases, the company said. Management said the brand holds about 60% of India’s vodka market. Radico recently introduced a flavored line called Magic Moments Flavors of India, with Jamun SpicyMint, Alphonso Mango and Thandaai variants, to build on that momentum.

In whisky, the company said After Dark continued to perform strongly after a packaging refresh, while 8PM Premium Black expanded its distribution. Radico has also spent several years building a luxury portfolio aimed at both domestic drinkers and export markets. That range includes Rampur Indian Single Malt, Jaisalmer Indian Craft Gin, Royal Ranthambore, Sangam World Malt Whisky, Kohinoor Reserve Indian Dark Rum, Kashmyr Vodka and other releases.

Rampur, its best-known luxury whisky, is now sold in about 50 countries and 35 travel retail locations, the company said. Sangam is present in about 40 countries and 19 Indian states. Jaisalmer has about 50% of India’s luxury gin market, according to management, and is available in around 40 countries and more than 30 travel retail outlets.

The company’s balance sheet also improved during the quarter. Net debt fell by ₹138 crore from March to ₹106 crore. Management said it is targeting a net debt-free position by the second quarter of fiscal 2027. Return on capital employed rose to 26.9%, another sign that the premium strategy is improving efficiency as well as revenue mix.

Radico used the quarter’s performance to raise its full-year forecast for the premium business. It now expects Prestige & Above volume to grow more than 25% in fiscal 2027, up from a previous target of 20%. It said EBITDA margin for the full year should stay around 20%.

The company also signaled that it intends to keep spending behind the shift. Marketing investment is expected to remain at 6% to 8% of Indian-made foreign liquor revenue. Radico said it plans further vodka flavor launches this fiscal year, a tequila launch, more expansion for Morpheus Whiskey and After Dark Blue, and a broader airport retail presence over time. Management also said it expects to hold about 1,000 on-trade events during the fiscal year to support brand building.

The company’s outlook still comes with risks. Competition is increasing in flavored vodka and other fast-growing premium categories. Management said a trade agreement between India and the United Kingdom could eventually allow imported rivals to lower prices by 7% to 8%, although Radico argued that its premium products are differentiated by taste and quality. Executives also said they are monitoring the crisis in West Asia for possible supply chain effects.

Still, the first-quarter figures show a clear pattern in India’s spirits market. Radico’s total case sales moved up only slightly, but its high-end labels added about 1.38 million cases in a single quarter and crossed the halfway mark in the company’s volume mix. For a producer that once relied more heavily on mass-market brands, that marks a significant change in where growth is coming from and where margins are being built.