Nestlé India Q3 profit up 8.3% YoY; declares dividend of ₹120 apiece

FMCG major Nestle Ltd has reported a net profit of ₹668 crore for the July-September quarter of the calendar year 2022, up 8.3% from ₹ 617.4 crore during Q3 CY21. The company's total sales for Q3 CY22 stood at ₹4,591 crore, up 18.3% from ₹3,882 crore during Q3 CY21. The EBITDA for Q3 CY22 was ₹1,016 crore, up 6.7% from ₹962 crore during the same quarter last year, shows a regulatory filing by Nestle.

The Maggi and Kitkat maker’s overall sales growth stood at 18.2%, while domestic sales growth was 18.3%. The earnings per share for Q3 CY22 was ₹69.3. The Nestle board of directors has declared a second interim dividend for 2022 of ₹120 per equity share (face value ₹10 per equity share), amounting to ₹1,157.0 crore. It will be paid on and from 16 November 2022. This is in addition to the first interim dividend of ₹25 per equity share paid on 6 May 2022. "We have witnessed the highest sales growth during a quarter in the last five years. This achievement has been on continued strong volume and mix evolution with broad-based double-digit growth across all categories," says Suresh Narayanan, chairman and MD, Nestlé India.

Reacting to the development, the Nestle India stock surged 1.83% or 354.95 to ₹19,743.80 on the NSE today. The share is on a consistent upward rally. The stock rose 5.47% or 1,025.7 points to 19,750.05 during the past week; 5.31% in the past month, and 10.10% in the past six months.

To increase consumer connections and boost sales of digital offerings, Nestle has launched its first-ever d2c platform -- MyNestle. "MyNestlé will delight the consumer in every way with curated product bundles, personalised gifting, subscriptions, discounts, and much more. Not just this, consumers can also try gourmet recipes on the site and get free nutrition counselling," says Narayan. Initially, MyNestlé will be launched in Delhi-NCR and will soon expand to other parts of the country.

During Q3 CY22, Nestle's e-comm channel showed decent acceleration, with growth being largely fuelled by new, emerging formats such as quick commerce and click & mortar, which contributed 7.2% to the quarterly sales. The company says the proliferation of the Indian product portfolio in new markets and expanding new categories, especially wider offerings in MAGGI and confectionery, remained a key focus in Q3. The product group performance domestically was led by prepared dishes and cooking aids, milk products and nutrition, confectionery and beverages.

In its outlook, Nestle India says it's seeing early signs of stability in the prices of a few commodities such as edible oils and packaging materials. However, fresh milk, fuels, grains and green coffee costs are expected to remain firm with a continued increase in demand and volatility.