Nestle India Limited’s stocks jumped 3% on April 25 after it published strong fourth quarter (Q4FY24) results, entered into a joint venture, and recommended a dividend, as per its latest regulatory filing. 

Nestle India’s Q4FY24 net profit grew by 26.7% to Rs 934 crore from Rs 737 crore in the same quarter last year. The company profited from higher product prices and demand for packaged food items. 

Nestle India’s revenue from operations increased to Rs 5,268 crore from Rs 4,831 crore a year earlier. This marked the first time Nestle India’s domestic sales crossed the Rs 5,000 crore mark. 

The company’s most recent regulatory filing recommended a final dividend of Rs 8.50 per equity share of Re 1 each for the 15-month financial year that ended on March 31, 2024. 

The dividend has been recommended on the entire issued, subscribed, and paid-up share capital, which consists of 964,157,160 equity shares of the nominal value of Rs1 each. 

Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortisation (EBITDA) stood at Rs 1,337.7 crore, with a growth of 21.8% from the previous year. 

Nestle India has entered into a Joint Venture (JV) with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories to invest in Dr Reddy’s Nutraceuticals Ltd. 

The Joint Venture will see Nestle India hold a 49% stake and have a call option to increase the shareholding after six years at a fair market value. Dr Reddy will continue to hold no less than a 40% stake in the JV. 

Nestle India’s business segments have performed as follows:

– Beverage: Nescafe introduced its coffee to over 3 crore (30 million) households across India in seven years, resulting in a strong performance. 

– Milk Products and Nutrition: Strong growth despite inflationary pressures. 

– Prepared Dishes and Cooking Aids: Strong growth across the portfolio led by Maggi Noodles and Maggi Masala-Ae-Magic. India is now the world’s largest market for Maggi globally. 

– Out-of-Home: Strong growth with e-commerce now contributing to 6.8% of overall sales. 

– Exports: Maggi noodles and sauces delivered good growth, witnessing increased demand in key markets like Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. 

Nescafe Sunrise continued to gain traction in established markets like Singapore and Taiwan while also being exported to Canada for the first time. 

Consumer goods manufacturers have observed steady demand for food items like chocolates and biscuits. To protect their bottom line (profit), they have also increased prices on certain products, including coffee and noodles. 

Earlier. this FMCG company was being investigated by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) following allegations of high sugar content in baby food.

At 2:43 pm, the shares of Nestle India Ltd. were trading 2.40% higher at Rs 2,560.15 on NSE.