Nestle India Dec quarter profit rises over 4% to ₹655.6 crore

New Delhi, FMCG major Nestle India Ltd on Wednesday reported an increase of 4.38 per cent in its net profit at Rs 655.61 crore for the quarter ended December 31. The company had posted a profit of Rs 628.06 crore in the same period a year ago, Nestle India said in a regulatory filing.

Nestle India's net rose 8.27 per cent to Rs 4,583.63 crore during the period under review. It was at Rs 4,233.27 crore in the corresponding period of last fiscal.

Its total expenses in the December quarter rose 6.11 per cent to Rs 3,636.94 crore.

Nestle India's domestic sales were up 8.86 per cent to Rs 4,421.79 crore, as against Rs 4,061.85 crore in the October-December quarter of last fiscal.

"Domestic sales grew by 8.9 per cent on the back of pricing and mix growth, with strong growth momentum in e-commerce and out-of-home channels. The quarter was marked by an increase in brand investments across all product groups," said Nestle India Chairman and Managing Director Suresh Narayanan.

However, its exports were down 5.58 per cent to Rs 161.84 crore, as against Rs 171.42 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

Nestle India's revenue from operations was up 8.07 per cent to Rs 4,600.42 crore. It was at Rs 4,256.79 crore in the December quarter of last fiscal.

Earlier, Nestle India, which followed January-December financial year, had approved the change of the financial year commencing on April 1 and ending on March 31 of the next year.

"Consequently, as a transitional arrangement, the current financial year of the company will be for a period of 15 months commencing January 1, 2023, and ending March 31, 2024, while the previous financial year was 12 months, from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022," it said.

It also added the audited results for the previous financial year are also comparable figures for the 12 months ended December 31, 2023.

In 2023, Nestle India's profit was up 25.44 per cent to Rs 2,998.67 crore. It was Rs 2,390.52 crore a year ago.

Similarly, revenue from sales of products of Nestle India in 2023 was up 13.3 per cent to Rs 19,021.05 crore.

"During the year 2023, our total sales grew by over 13.3 per cent and we crossed Rs 19,000 crore mark," Narayanan said.

The board of the company on Wednesday approved slump sale of the Nestle Business Services ('NBS') Division of the company to Purina PetCare India, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Nestle SA, for an aggregate consideration of Rs 79.8 crore.

"The transaction shall be effective from July 1, 2024, subject to customary closing conditions," the statement said.

The shares of Nestle India were trading at Rs 2,491.55 apiece on BSE, up 1.37 per cent from its previous close.