Nestle India's January-March net profit up 6.7 per cent

Nestle India on Friday reported a surge of 6.7 per cent in its net profit after tax for the first quarter (Q1) of 2017.
The company’s net profit for the January-March quarter stood at Rs 306.76 crore — up 6.7 per cent from Rs 287.32 crore in the same period in 2016.
For the quarter ended March 31, 2017, the total income from operations of the company rose by 9.48 per cent to Rs 2,591.94 crore from Rs 2,367.53 crore reported during the same period last year.
“Total sales for the quarter increased by 9.1 per cent. Domestic sales increased by 9.7 per cent mainly due to increase in volumes across product groups, including rebuild of Maggi noodles, supplemented by marginally better realisations mostly from carry-over pricing,” the company said in a statement.
The statement pointed out that the growth of 0.6 per cent in exports was largely impacted by lower sales to Nepal and Bhutan.
“Innovation and renovation, as also volume-based growth, are core business strategies outlined by Nestle India almost 18 months back and I am pleased that this strategy is now playing an important role,” said Chairman and Managing Director, Nestle India, Suresh Narayanan.
“Building Nestle India for the next 100 years, we will continue to deliver on our purpose of ‘Enhancing Quality of Life and Contributing to a Healthier Future’ through our proven competencies in areas of nutrition, food quality and safety.
“In doing so, we will leverage our expertise and strengths in science-based nutrition and explore the areas of micronutrient fortification for our mass consumption products,” Narayanan said.
The statement said the company had adopted Ind AS (Indian Accounting Standards) with effect from January 1, 2017, with a transition date of January 1, 2016. The company follows the calendar year in reporting financial results.
“The Board of Directors have declared an interim dividend for 2017 of Rs 15 per equity share (face value Rs 10 per equity share) amounting to Rs 1,446.2 million, which will be paid on and from 2nd June, 2017,” the statement added.