Nestle India Q4 profit at Rs.183 crore

Nestle India said on Friday that it posted net profit of Rs.183.19 crore for the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to Rs.326.38 crore during the corresponding period in 2014.

The company has the calendar year as its financial year.

"I am also happy to report that despite the exceptional toll that the Maggi noodles crisis took on our financials, our optimism about the future helps us with a healthy dividend payout. The high point of the quarter has been the return of Maggi noodles to the market," said chairman and managing director Suresh Narayanan.

The statement said that the company faced an unusual situation with Maggi noodles that impacted its operations during the second, third and fourth quarters. Net profit at Rs.563 crore for the year has decreased from Rs.1,185 crore in 2014.

Net sales for the year decreased by 17.2 percent largely due to the impact of Maggi noodles issue. Net domestic sales decreased by 18.3 percent and export sales by 1.3 percent impacted by Maggi noodles issue and lower coffee exports partially offset by export of milk & nutrition products.

"2015 has been a very tough year for Nestle India where the impact of the Maggi crisis extended to not just our factories and employees but also hundreds and thousands of our partners, suppliers, farmers, retailers and customers across the country whose livelihoods depended on the company," he added.