 "Nestle India Q4 net up 16%")
Nestle India, on Friday, reported a 15.87% rise in net profit at Rs 326.38 crore for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2014.
Nestle India, which follows January-December financial year, had posted a net profit of Rs 281.66 crore during the same quarter ended December 2013.
Net profit for the year 2014 stood at Rs 1,184.7 crore, up from Rs 1,117.1 crore in 2013.
Nestle India's net sales during the quarter under review increased to Rs 2,516.1 crore, up 11.71% as against Rs 2,252.3 crore in the same period of previous year, Nestle said in a statement.
Net sales during the year stood at Rs 9,806.27 crore compared to Rs 9,061.90 crore in the previous fiscal, the company said.
Meanwhile, Nestle India said its board has recommended a final dividend for the year 2014 of Rs 12.50 per equity shares of Rs 10 each.
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"Cost of materials consumed has increased mainly due to significantly higher cost of milk and its derivatives which were even higher in India than those in international markets during most part of 2014 and has not been fully passed on to the consumers. Finance costs reduced mainly due to repayment of External Commercial Borrowing (ECB)," Nestle said in a statement.
Nestle India's net domestic sales grew by 8.6% mainly from better realisations while its export sales grew by just 2.9%. Nestle India indicated that the growth was impacted by lower coffee exports to Russia.
"2014 was a challenging year. In a difficult environment, we have delivered on both top and bottom line and our results are broadly in line with the food and beverage segment of the FMCG sector. We increased investments behind our brands and maintained healthy profitability despite strong headwinds in milk solid costs that were higher than international markets and were not passed on to consumers fully. We remain focused on value up portfolio management and are continuing to reshape the portfolio and communication to strengthen our leadership as nutrition, health and wellness company," Etienne Benet, managing director, said in a statement.
Shares of Nestle India closed at Rs 7,075 a piece on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), up 3.79% from their previous close.