Nestle India posted a net profit of ₹908.08 crore in the third quarter ended September 30, up 37.28 per cent against ₹661.46 crore in the corresponding period in the previous fiscal. Revenue from operations stood at ₹5036.82 crore, up 9.45 per cent for the quarter under review.

Nestle India follows the January-December period as the financial year. According to the company total sales grew 9.4 per cent, while domestic sales grew 10.3 per cent. The net profit for the quarter includes one-time gain of ₹106.4 crore.

The company’s board has declared a second interim dividend of ₹140 per equity share amounting to ₹1,349.82 crore.

Also read: Nestle betting big on India’s growing coffee consumption culture

In a statement, Suresh Narayanan, Chairman and Managing Director, Nestlé India, said, “We have, yet again, delivered consistent performance almost across all major brands. We crossed ₹5,000 crore turnover, which has been our first in any quarter in the history of the company and a landmark for us.”

He added that domestic sales recorded double digit growth on account of mix, volume and price. The company said key brands continued to perform well, led by Kitkat, Nescafe Classic, Nescafe Sunrise and supported by Munch and Milkmaid.

“Consumer trends and increasing proclivity towards adoption of brands in small towns and large villages has propelled the growth of the company. Our RURBAN strategy remained focussed on deepening our reach in under penetrated small towns and large villages,“ he added.

MIDAS

The company said it is leveraging its analytics platform MIDAS to get actionable insights and take granular decisions.

“We are piloting NESmitra, our customer ordering app in RURBAN markets, that connects retailers to distributors. We continue to widen and customize our RURBAN portfolio by introducing products which cater to specific local requirements,” Narayanan added. The company recently launched Maggi Teekha Masala and Maggi Chatpata Masala variants of Maggi noodles in RURBAN markets across 15 States in India.

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“The out-of-home business continued to deliver double-digit growth with a focus on portfolio transformation, geographical expansion and significant investment in infrastructure. E-commerce contributed to 6.1 per cent of the quarterly sales with continued growth across channels driven by quick commerce,” Narayanan said. He added that the company’s D2C platform has performed well in Delhi-NCR and is being expanded to other cities.

“We have accelerated our focus on innovation and renovation, launching many new products through the year. We are creating a differentiated and diverse food portfolio across brands that promotes millets or ‘shree anna’ as a more sustainable food. Our manufacturing and processing capabilities and understanding of Indian palate enables us with expertise to introduce millets in relevant product groups,” Narayanan added.

Uneven Rain

The company noted that “uneven rain and rain deficit” is expected to impact production of maize, sugar, oilseeds and spices, which in turn will have a likely impact on prices.

Also read: Nestle India to invest ₹4,200 crore till 2025

“Coffee continues to be volatile due to global supply deficit. The weather during the harvest of the Indian Robusta crop may impact production. Upcoming winter weather may impact wheat production. Healthy milk flush is expected in winter which is expected to keep prices stable,” the company stated in its commodity outlook.

Stock split

“The Board of Directors of the company has approved the alteration in the share capital of the company by sub-division/split of existing equity shares having face value of ₹10 each, fully paid up, into 10 (ten) equity shares having face value of ₹1 (rupee one only) each fully paid-up, subject to the approval of members of the company,” the company said in a BSE filing.

The company’s shares surged 0.93% to trade at ₹23,479 on NSE at 12.15 pm.

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