Varun Beverages acquires PepsiCo franchisee rights in Bihar

Beverages manufacturer and distributor Varun Beverages is buckling up to expand its reach and foray into newer markets in India. The company announced the acquisition of franchisee rights of PepsiCo India in the state of Bihar on Thursday.

Following the development, the stock soared by over 4 per cent to Rs. 686.90 per share on BSE on Thursday. The stock has charted a surge of over 60 per cent on the bourses in the past one year.

On completing the acquisition of the franchisee rights for PepsiCo India in Bihar, the company will become a franchisee for PepsiCo products in about 20 states and 2 Union Territories in India. The company had acquired the franchisee rights of PepsiCo’s sub-territory along with acquiring the manufacturing facilities and franchisee rights for Chhattisgarh in December 2017.

The company had recorded a tremendous growth in its profit after tax for the second quarter of fiscal year 2018. The PAT of the company grew from Rs. 4.51 crore in the second quarter of fiscal year 2017 to Rs. 50.14 crore in the second quarter of fiscal year 2018. On an annual front, the company had posted a surge of 23.13 per cent in its PAT in the fiscal year 2017 on a year-on-year basis.

On Thursday, the stock hit an intraday low of Rs. 665 per share and an intraday high of Rs. 686.90 per share on BSE. At 11:55 hours IST, the stock was trading at Rs. 668.05 per share, higher by 1.04 per cent.