Nestle India Q2 Net Jumps 36%; Shares Slide 4% in Afternoon Trade

Mumbai, Oct 15: Nestle India Ltd reported a 35.9 per cent year-on-year jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,009.6 crore for the quarter ended September 2026, against Rs 743.2 crore a year earlier. Revenue from operations rose 20.3 per cent to Rs 6,788.3 crore from Rs 5,643.6 crore. Despite the strong numbers, the stock is trading sharply lower on the NSE in the afternoon session.

On a sequential basis, net profit rose 5.3 per cent from Rs 958.7 crore in the June quarter, while revenue from operations grew 6.4 per cent from Rs 6,378.2 crore. Profit before tax rose 35.7 per cent to Rs 1,382.2 crore from Rs 1,018.5 crore. Earnings per share came in at Rs 5.24, compared with Rs 3.86 a year ago and Rs 4.97 in the June quarter.

Sale of products rose 20.5 per cent to Rs 6,782.2 crore. Domestic sales, which form the bulk of the business, rose 20.4 per cent to Rs 6,514.7 crore, while export sales grew 22.0 per cent to Rs 267.4 crore. Other operating revenue fell to Rs 6.2 crore from Rs 13.4 crore. Other income stood at Rs 20.3 crore against Rs 5.5 crore a year earlier, taking total income to Rs 6,808.6 crore.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 31.0 per cent to Rs 1,615.5 crore from Rs 1,232.7 crore, lifting the EBITDA margin to 23.8 per cent from 21.8 per cent a year ago. The margin was slightly below the 24.1 per cent of the June quarter. Material costs, including stock-in-trade purchases and inventory changes, were 43.1 per cent of revenue against 45.4 per cent last year, based on the results data.

Other expenses rose about 28 per cent to Rs 1,679.8 crore, outpacing revenue growth, while employee benefit expense grew 5.8 per cent to Rs 568.7 crore. Finance costs eased to Rs 40.3 crore from Rs 46.4 crore, while depreciation and amortisation rose 17.8 per cent to Rs 192.4 crore. Total tax expense was Rs 372.6 crore against Rs 275.3 crore, leaving the effective tax rate steady at about 27 per cent.

For the six months ended September 2026, net profit climbed 41.6 per cent to Rs 1,968.3 crore from Rs 1,389.8 crore, while revenue from operations rose 22.6 per cent to Rs 13,166.5 crore. Earnings per share for the half stood at Rs 10.21, against Rs 7.21 a year earlier. The first-half profit is already 56.3 per cent of the Rs 3,499.1 crore earned in the year ended March 31, 2026, when revenue from operations was Rs 23,154.6 crore.

The consolidated balance sheet as on September 30, 2026 shows a stronger cash position. Cash and cash equivalents rose 29.1 per cent to Rs 1,705.4 crore from Rs 1,320.6 crore on March 31, 2026, while total borrowings remained negligible at Rs 25.3 crore. Cash, bank balances and current investments stood at Rs 1,796.5 crore. Equity rose 12.0 per cent to Rs 5,777.0 crore, and total assets expanded to Rs 14,176.1 crore from Rs 13,182.5 crore. Inventories increased 9.7 per cent to Rs 2,818.6 crore, and trade receivables rose 19.7 per cent to Rs 394.3 crore. Capital work-in-progress increased to Rs 552.6 crore from Rs 507.0 crore.

Nestle India Shares in Afternoon Trade

At 12:58 pm on Thursday, Nestle India shares were quoted at Rs 1,328.10 on the NSE, down Rs 55.10, or 3.98 per cent, from the previous close of Rs 1,383.20. The Nifty 50, in contrast, was up 390.15 points, or 1.72 per cent, at 23,012.85 at the same time. The stock opened at Rs 1,380.00 and touched a high of Rs 1,385.90 in the morning. It then slid sharply around 12:25 pm to a low of Rs 1,260.50, about 8.9 per cent below the previous close, before recovering part of it. It is now trading just above its volume-weighted average price of Rs 1,326.28. The order book tilts towards buyers, with 3,49,317 shares (62.12 per cent) on the bid side against 2,13,030 shares (37.88 per cent) on the offer side.