While most fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies have benefited from the fall in crude and palm oil prices, there is no respite for the alcoholic beverages segment. Companies in this segment have seen the sharpest fall in gross and operating profit margins within the FMCG space, given rising prices of glass and extra neutral alcohol. These two inputs account for about two thirds of raw material costs. What has compounded matters at the operating profit margin level are higher advertising spends.