Nestle India Q4 Results: Profit Misses Estimates On A One-Time Loss
The consumer goods maker reported a one-time loss of Rs 236 crore due to past service costs.
Nestle India Ltd.’s quarterly profit missed estimates on a one-time loss.
Net profit of the maker of Maggi instant noodles and Kit Kat chocolates—that follows calendar-year financial reporting—fell 20% over the preceding year to Rs 387 crore in the three months ended December, according to its exchange filing. That compares with the Rs 548-crore consensus estimate of analysts tracked by Bloomberg.
The consumer goods maker reported a one-time loss of Rs 236 crore due to past service costs.
Profit before exceptional items and tax stood at Rs 743 crore.
Q4 Highlights (YoY)
Revenue jumped 9% to Rs 3,739 crore, compared with the Rs 3,777-crore forecast.
Operating profit rose 11% to Rs 865.6 crore, against the projected Rs 854 crore.
Margin came in at 23.1% versus 22.6%.
For the full year, the company’s revenue rose 10% to Rs 14,709 crore as growth momentum continued in Maggi noodles.
Its domestic sales rose 9.2% year-on-year to Rs 3,559.7, while exports fell 11.2% to Rs 146 crore in the fourth quarter, mainly due to lower coffee exports and change in product mix. Total sales and domestic sales for the full year increased 10.1% and 10.7%, respectively.
“This quarter has once again seen the company deliver ‘double‐digit broad‐based value growth’ in domestic sales across categories,” Suresh Narayanan, chairman and managing director at Nestle India, was quoted as saying in the statement.
The company, however, said it continues to witness high inflation in key raw and packaging materials, where many are at 10-year highs. “We remain confident of our ability and competencies and will make all efforts towards cost optimisation and seeking systematic efficiencies to mitigate the impact.”
In the short to medium term, the price outlook for key categories like edible oils, coffee, wheat, fuel remains firm to bullish, while costs of packaging materials continue to increase amid supply constraints, rising fuel and transportation costs.
Input prices are expected to be on bullish trend both globally and to some extent locally.
Fresh milk prices are expected to remain firm with continued increase in demand and rise in feed costs to farmers.
Nestle will keenly look for opportunities for cost optimisation and efficiencies as we have successfully done in the past.