Nestle India net surges 38% to ₹473 crore in December quarter

Aided by broad-based volume growth and lower tax expenses, packaged food major Nestle India clocked a 38.4 per cent growth in net profit at ₹ 473 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2019

Total sales for the quarter under review grew by 8.8 per cent to ₹3,130.74 crore. The company follows January-December period as the financial year for accounting purposes.

Final dividend

“The board of directors has recommended a final dividend of ₹61 per equity sharefor the year 2019. The total dividend for 2019 aggregates to ₹342 per equity share,” the company stated.

The local arm of the Swiss major posted a net profit of ₹1,969.55 crore for the full financial year of 2019, up 22.5 per cent compared to ₹1,606.93 crore in the previous year. Total sales grew by 9.6 per cent in the full year of 2019 to ₹12,295.27 crore.

The company said that the domestic sales (10.9 per cent) growth for the year was broad based largely driven by volume and mix, while export sales decreased by 9.9 per cent due to lower exports of coffee to Turkey.

In a statement, Suresh Narayanan, Chairman and Managing Director, Nestle India, said, “I am pleased to share that we have delivered broad-based volume and mix-led growth. This is a trend we have demonstrated consistently in recent years.” However, he cautioned that the trend of higher commodity prices witnessed in recent quarters is likely to continue in the near future.