1. At a Glance – The Buzz Just Got Flat
At ₹83 per share and a market cap of ₹1,725 crore, Som Distilleries & Breweries Ltd just reported Q3 FY26 numbers that feel less like a celebration and more like the morning after. Quarterly sales came in at ₹250.55 crore (down 16.8% YoY), while net profit collapsed 76% YoY to just ₹5.49 crore. Operating margin? Slipped to 7.76% from 12.06% a year ago.
Stock P/E sits at 19.5 versus industry P/E of 35.9. ROCE is a respectable 18%, ROE at 16.2%, debt-to-equity at 0.24. On paper? Looks balanced. In Q3? Looks bruised.
Three-month return: -27.8%. Six-month return: -37.9%. One-year return: -22.4%.
Is this a temporary capacity hiccup, excise drama, and margin compression cocktail? Or are we watching growth fatigue after a five-year 48% profit CAGR party?
Let’s open the bottle and inspect the label carefully.
2. Introduction – From Party King to Party Pause?
Founded in 1993, Som Distilleries is the flagship of the Bhopal-based SOM Group. They sell beer and IMFL across India and export to 24+ countries. Their millionaire brands — Hunter, Black Fort, and Power Cool — have crossed 1 million cases annually.
Beer contributes 93% of revenue. IMFL is just 7%. So when beer sneezes, the entire income statement catches a cold.
FY24 was strong. Sales ₹1,443 crore. PAT ₹104 crore. Margins steady around 12%.
Then FY26 Q3 happened.
Revenue down. PAT down sharply. Interest cost rising. Operating margin nearly halved quarter-on-quarter from 14.87% in Sep 2025 to 7.76% in Dec 2025.
And if that wasn’t spicy enough, February 2026 brought an excise suspension at the Rojrachak (Raisen) factory. Operations ceased. Appeal pending in MP High Court.
So, investors are asking the obvious:
Is this a temporary regulatory hangover?
Or are we staring at a margin reset story?
Let’s dissect it section by section.
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
Som is primarily a beer machine.
Beer brands:
- Hunter
- Black Fort
- Power Cool
- Woodpecker
- Legend
IMFL brands:
- Black Fort (yes, same name)
- Sunny
- Gypsy
- Fox
They manufacture at:
- Madhya Pradesh (70% utilization)
- Karnataka (90% utilization)
- Odisha (~50% utilization)
Installed capacity:
- Beer: 30+ million cases annually
- IMFL: 3.9 million cases annually
In April 2024, they added wraparound packaging at Bhopal to boost efficiency by 25%. Karnataka plant capacity expanded to 140 lakh cases p.a.
They also manufacture for Radico Khaitan under contract — smart move to improve utilization.
But here’s the reality:
93% of revenue from beer means monsoon season and excise department mood swings matter more than management presentations.
You want stability? This is a volume-sensitive business.
4. Financial Overview – The Numbers Don’t Lie
Annualised EPS = Average of Q1, Q2, Q3 EPS × 4
Q1 EPS (Jun 2025) = ₹2.02
Q2 EPS (Sep 2025) = ₹0.92
Q3 EPS (Dec 2025) = ₹0.22
Average = (2.02 + 0.92 + 0.22)
