Nestle India on Friday said it will set up its ninth factory in the country at Sanand, Gujarat, with an initial investment of about ₹700 crore over two years.
The company posted a net profit of ₹437.84 crore for the second quarter ended June 30, up 10.8 per cent from ₹395.03 crore posted in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. Revenue from operations grew 11.2 per cent to ₹3,000.85 crore. It follows a January-December financial year.
In a statement, Suresh Narayanan, Chairman and Managing Director, Nestle India, said: “In line with our commitment to ‘Make in India’, we will soon commence the construction of our newest, and ninth, factory in India, at Sanand, Gujarat. This state-of-the-art, environmentally sustainable factory for Maggi noodles will involve an initial investment of nearly ₹700 crore over the next two years and will generate employment for about 400 people.”
Dividend announcement
Meanwhile, Nestle India’s board has declared an interim dividend of ₹23 per equity share (face value ₹10) for 2019, amounting to ₹2,217.6 million out of current year profits. It also plans a special interim dividend of ₹180 per equity share out of the accumulated profits of previous years. The total amount of ₹203 per share will be paid from August 23.
The company said domestic sales in the second quarter grew 13.1 per cent “largely driven by volume and mix and positively influenced by sales to CSD and sale of surplus fat”. However, export sales dropped 13.9 per cent due to lower coffee exports to Turkey.
Talking about the quarterly earnings, Narayanan said: “I am pleased to share that with this quarter, we have delivered 10 straight quarters of volume and mix-led growth...However, the environment continues to be challenging with headwinds in commodity prices and softer demand conditions.”