Nestle logos are pictured in the supermarket of Nestle headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland, February 13, 2020. REUTERS
July 24 (Reuters) – Nestle India (NEST.NS), posted a 12% decline in first-quarter profit on Thursday, pressured by higher costs of raw materials and expenses tied to its move to expand manufacturing.
The Indian arm of Swiss food major Nestle (NESN.S), reported a profit of 6.59 billion rupees ($76.36 million) for the April-June quarter, compared with 7.47 billion rupees last year.
The Maggi noodles maker is battling cost inflation in key commodities such as cocoa and coffee, staples in its popular KitKat chocolates and Nescafe coffees.
“The quarter was impacted by elevated consumption prices across the commodity portfolio,” Nestle India Chairman and Managing Director Suresh Narayanan said in a statement.
Nestle India’s revenue from operations, meanwhile, rose 6% to 50.96 billion rupees, led by growth in urban markets.
($1 = 86.3020 Indian rupees)
Reporting by Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru and Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Sherry Jacob-Phillips
