Nestle India Q1 results miss estimates, commodity prices headwinds remain; stock tumbles

Nestle India reported its Q1 earnings on Thursday for the April-June quarter. The company’s net profit for the reporting quarter has been recorded at Rs 746.6 crore. Zee Business research estimated profit at the company to climb 16% on-year to Rs 809 crore led by volume growth as well as growth in domestic business and exports.

Total sales at the company has been recorded at Rs 4,739 crore during the reporting quarter, with total sales growth at 3.8 per cent, while the domestic sales Growth has been recorded at 4.2 per cent. The profit from operations has been logged at 21.3 per cent of sales, added the company's press release.

Further EPS during the review quarter has come in at Rs 7.74 per share.  Additionally, the company highlighted that it announced an interim dividend of Rs 2.75 per equity share on 8th July 2024.

Commodity prices are seeing unprecedented headwinds in coffee and cocoa with all-time high prices and an ongoing price rally. Cereals and grains are going through a structural cost increasebacked by MSP. There is relative stability in milk prices, packaging and edible oils, it added.

Suresh Narayanan, Chairman and Managing Director, Nestlé India on the earnings said, “I am pleased to share that despite external challenges such as lower consumption growth, concerns on continued food inflation and volatile commodity prices, we have delivered growth across our product groups. Almost a fourth of our growth has been mix and volume led, and we hope to strengthen this trend in the coming months. I am happy to inform you that 5 of our top 12 brands grew double-digit."

He added that our Beverages business stood out, with strong double-digit growth, despite a scorching summer across many parts of India.

Strong consumer led activation on ‘Cold opportunity’ helped NESCAFÉ CLASSIC post double-digit growth, Narayanan remarked. In consonance, NESCAFÉ Sunrise, and NESCAFÉ GOLD also delivered strong growth. The launch of NESCAFÉ Roastery has further strengthened our premium coffee portfolio. In our endeavour to build cold coffee as a strategic pillar, we successfully launched Nescafé Ice Roast with encouraging response across key markets and channels

Nestle share price

After nearly 2 per cent loss post the Q1 result announcement, shares of the FMCG major are now down by again a same quantum at Rs 2,499 per share on the BSE.