Nestle India Q3 profit up 33 pc to Rs 595 cr

FMCG major Nestle India on Friday reported a 33.46 percent rise in net profit at Rs 595.41 crore for the third quarter ended September 2019, on higher domestic sales growth and lower tax outgo. The company, which follows January-December as the financial year, had posted a profit of Rs 446.11 crore in the year-ago period.

Net sales were up 9.49 percent to Rs 3,199.31 crore during the quarter under review as against Rs 2,921.99 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal. "Maggi, Kitkat, Nestle Munch, Nescafe RTD, NANGROW, and CEREGROW delivered strong performances. The quarter witnessed higher commodity prices particularly in milk and its derivatives, which are likely to continue in the near term future," Nestle India CMD Suresh Narayanan said.

Nestle profit also includes one-off credit of Rs 72.5 crore about the previous quarter as the company factored in the impact of change in corporate tax announced by the government. "The tax expense for the current quarter is lower due to the credit of Rs 72.5 crore about the previous quarter. This has also impacted the current quarter's "Net Profit" by the same amount and the "Earnings Per Share" by Rs 7.5," said Nestle India in a statement.

Nestle's total expenses were at Rs 2,572.32 crore during the quarter as against Rs 2,334.63 crore earlier, up 10.18 percent. Revenue from Nestle's domestic sales in July-September was up 10.53 percent to Rs 3,039.09 crore as against Rs 2,749.50 crore.

However, exports were down 7.11 percent to Rs 160.22 crore as against Rs 172.49 crore in the year-ago period. "Domestic sales increased by 10.5 percent largely driven by volume & mix. Export sales dropped 7.1 percent due to lower coffee exports to Turkey," said Nestle India.

Shares of Nestle India on Friday settled at Rs 14,474.65 apiece on the BSE, down 1.66 percent.