Nestle India records growth in all its 4 segments

FMCG firm Nestle India has said that all its four segments showed growth in sales by value during the first quarter of 2009, although in volume terms only two areas moved up.     

In a filing to the BSE, the company said volume-wise two segments reported positive growth, while one stayed flat and the other reported a decline in sales during the period.     

The filing, which is based on a recent analyst meet, said the Prepared Dishes and Cooking Aids segment, in which Maggie is the premium brand, has reported the highest growth of 24.1 per cent in sales at Rs 290 crore during Q1, 2009, as against Rs 240 crore in the first quarter of 2008.     

The segment also witnessed a growth rate of 18.2 per cent in volume sales at 3.46 lakh tonnes during the period, up from 2.93 lakh tonnes during the first quarter of 2008.     

The Milk Products and Nutrition segment reported the second highest growth in both net sales and total volume.    

Nestle India reported a growth rate of 17.8 per cent in net sales in the Milk Products and Nutrition segment at Rs 600 crore during the first quarter of 2009. The figure for the first quarter of 2008 was Rs 510 crore.     

In volume terms, the segment grew by 7.6 per cent in Q1, 2009 at 3.40 lakh tonnes as against 3.16 lakh tonnes during the corresponding period of last year.

In the Chocolate and Confectionery segment, Nestle India registered sales of Rs 180 crore in Q1 2009, a growth rate of 14.3 per cent compared with Rs 150 crore in the same period last year.     

The sales volume in this segment remained flat at 109,000 tonnes in the first quarter this year.  In the Beverages segment, the company reported lowest growth in net sales and its total quarterly volume sales declined sharply.     

The company saw its sales rising by three per cent in the segment during the first quarter of 2009 at Rs 200 crore, up from Rs 190 crore during the same period last year.     

In volume terms, the Beverages segment reported sales of 59,000 tonnes during the first quarter this year, a fall of 13.5 per cent over 68,000 tonnes during the same period of 2008.    

Overall, Milk Products and Nutrition segment consisted of 47 per cent of the company's net sales during first quarter of 2008 (46.3 per cent in Q1 of 2008), followed by Prepared Dishes and Cooking Aids at 23.3 per cent (21.8 per cent), Beverages at 15.8 per cent (17.8 per cent) and Chocolate and Confectionery at 14.1 per cent (13.9 per cent).