Latest news with #SureshNarayanan
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Business Standard
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Crisis is the new normal: Nestle India's outgoing CMD to successor
FMCG market stabilising now, Narayanan tells shareholders during company's AGM New Delhi Listen to This Article Crisis is the new normal and more battles will continue, said Suresh Narayanan, outgoing chairman and managing director, Nestle India, on Thursday, addressing shareholders in his 10th and last annual general meeting. 'Adversity is the only thing that does not change. So, I think we will have to battle many more (adversities) as we go forward, but the company is very strong,' Narayanan said while responding to a question asking for a message for his successor, Manish Tiwary. Tiwary, who has helmed retail giant Amazon India, is set to take over from Narayanan as managing director on August 1.
Mint
2 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Nestlé India sees ‘stabilization' in packaged goods market after soft demand
The packaged goods industry is stabilizing after a period of soft demand, said Suresh Narayanan, Nestlé India's outgoing chairman and managing director, on Thursday. While addressing shareholders at the company's 66th annual general meeting (AGM), Narayanan noted that high food inflation had negatively impacted volumes for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) manufacturers. 'There has been an overall slowdown in the consumer goods space because of food inflation, evolution of real incomes, unemployment and various other global maladies that have also affected us. Happy to report that things are stabilizing; food inflation clearly impacted our business,' he said. He acknowledged that commodity inflation has affected the company's volume-led growth, but expects gradual improvement. Commodities like coffee and cocoa are at elevated levels, at decadal highs, and that clearly puts enormous pressure on managing both penetration-led growth and the company's bottom line. 'There have been short-term pressures. But hopefully we will be getting back to the normal stride in the coming quarters…in the coming months,' he said during his last virtual AGM. Narayanan is set to retire on 31 July. The company deploys a combination of cost-saving measures, nearly 2% annually, along with buying efficiencies to tide itself over periods of high inflation. 'Sadly, we have had to make quite a few price increases. That clearly has a short-term impact on volumes. Going forward, we would not like to use price increases wherever we can,' he said. Nestlé sells a range of products in India, including chocolates, milk, ketchup, cooking aids, infant nutrition, cereals, curd, noodles, coffee, and pet food. Higher prices for key raw materials like coffee, milk, and cocoa directly impact the company's margins. For instance, in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year, average prices for Arabica coffee were up 97%, while Robusta prices rose 65% year-on-year. Narayanan said high prices and Nestlé's price hikes impacted the milk and nutrition category, which accounts for 37.9% of its total sales. The company sells packaged milk, yoghurt, and ready-to-drink coffee. 'Overall, food inflation has been quite significant. That obviously has led to strained price lines as far as some of our brands are concerned. We have therefore looked at a series of cost-saving and efficiency initiatives, and only after that, initiated any price increases in a responsible manner to ensure category growth remains. The impact certainly is coming down,' he added. He also noted that the divestment of the healthcare business to Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd will partly reflect in the category's performance. To be sure, several large packaged consumer companies have been pointing to a stress in urban consumption over the last few quarters. The Indian FMCG industry reported 11% on-year value growth in the March quarter, driven by a 5.1% volume increase and a 5.6% price hike, according to data released by NielsenIQ. Urban market growth decelerated in the quarter, while rural markets saw an 8.4% volume increase, a little less than the December quarter. On Thursday, the company announced its first-ever bonus share issue. Additionally, it recommended a final dividend of ₹ 10 per equity share on its 964,157,160 equity shares for 2024-25. In the fiscal year, the maker of Maggi noodles and KitKat chocolate reported a total income of ₹ 20,260.42 crore. Its capital expenditure rose from 1.8% of sales in 2015 to 10% of sales in the fiscal year ended March 2025. Narayanan mentioned that the company has committed ₹ 6,500 crore in capex between 2020 and 2025, with approximately ₹ 5,600 crore already spent. Its upcoming factory in Odisha will involve an investment of about ₹ ₹ 950 crore. Addressing a shareholder query regarding inventory build-up, he said inventories have almost doubled due to higher stock covers of green coffee. 'As you know, coffee has been on a rampage at 60 to 70 year highs, so we have taken a slightly longer position in the coverage of coffee, which has entailed a greater use of working capital and built derivatives as well—there has been an increase. All of this will get absorbed as we go forward in the operations,' he added.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Commodity inflation to fall, outlook appears positive in coming quarters: Nestle India CMD
Commodity inflation , which impacted volume growth in the last few quarters, is coming down as prices are stabilising but the upcoming quarters should see things returning to normal, the company's outgoing India Chairman & Managing Director Suresh Narayanan said on Thursday. However, commodities like coffee, cocoa remain at "decadal highs and that clearly puts an enormous amount of pressure in terms of managing the penetration-led growth and the bottom line (margins) of the company," said Narayanan, while addressing his last Annual General Meeting (AGM) for Nestle India . Going forward, Nestle will not like to go for price increases wherever it can, however, it will also depend on the commodity prices, as coffee, which is up 60-70 per cent and is "very difficult to manage", he said, adding that overall the outlook is "a bit more positive" in the upcoming quarters. Narayanan, who led Nestle during the Maggi crisis a decade ago, in a message to his successor Manish Tiwary, said "crisis is the new normal" and "adversity is the only thing that does not change". Narayanan, who addressed his 10th Nestle India AGM as Chairman, will retire on July 31, 2025 after serving 26 years, while Tiwary, former Country Manager of Amazon India, will get the baton from August 1, 2025, as per the succession plan announced last year. Live Events He said to mitigate the impact of food inflation, Nestle India took a series of cost-saving and efficiency initiatives. It also initiated price hikes, in a "responsible manner" to ensure that the volume is not impacted and category rules remain. "There have been short-term pressures... But hopefully, we will be getting back to the normal stride in the coming quarters and months," he said. Narayanan added that the commodity inflation clearly has "cast its shadow on the overall evolution of the company's volume". "22 of the last 32 quarters, the company has recorded double-digit growth, which means 10 quarters it has not been double-digit," he said, adding, "that has been largely in the last couple of quarters". "I am happy to report that things are stabilising. Sadly, we have had to make quite a few price increases, that really had a short-term impact on volumes," he said. "So we were going forward not to use price increases wherever we can, but again, it will depend on the extent of the cost increases. Like coffee, costs go up 60-70 per cent." Replying to another query, Narayanan said several new products launched by Nestle India are doing well. Nestle India launched over 150 new products after the Maggi crisis in 2015, which have contributed to 7 per cent of its sales. Moreover, Nestle, which gets around 8 per cent of total sales from e-commerce channels, and 6 per cent of them from hyperlocal delivery/quick-commerce platform, is taking a balanced approach between the channels. "Several of our new products are doing well on e-commerce channels," he said, adding, "Our general trade (kirana stores) and (physical) retail is very precious for us because of their hard work." Narayana will hang up his boots on July 31, 2025 after leading the company for 10 years. He joined the board of directors of Nestle India as Managing Director on August 1, 2015, after the Maggi crisis. Now India is among the top-10 markets of the Swiss FMCG major Nestle SA. It is now the "largest Maggi market globally" and the second largest out-of-home business for Nestle in the zone Asia, Oceania and Africa.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Nestle India rewards shareholders: Board approves 1:1 bonus issue; first in nearly 30 years
Nestle India approves 1:1 bonus shares issue NEW DELHI: Nestle India's board on Thursday approved the issuance of bonus equity shares in a 1:1 ratio. The company, in a regulatory filing, announced that the bonus equity shares with a face value of Re 1 each will be issued in full to shareholders holding equity shares of the same face value. "The record date for determining the entitlement of the members of the company to receive bonus equity shares will be announced in due course," the company stated, as quoted by PTI. The move follows the company's earlier disclosure on June 19, when it announced its intention to consider a bonus share issue. Outgoing Chairman and Managing Director Suresh Narayanan, addressing shareholders at the AGM, said, "...the board of directors have declared a bonus of one equity share, or one equity share held..., which is subject to the approval of the members in the EGM to be held on 24th July, 2025." This is Nestle India's first bonus share issue since 1996 and comes after the recent share subdivision and listing on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in 2024. The issuance is expected to benefit over 1.6 lakh small shareholders, most of whom hold fewer than five shares—a group that has long awaited such a move. The company described the decision as a gesture of appreciation toward shareholders, stating it was intended to "recognise shareholders' consistent support throughout their growth journey." Following the announcement, the company's stock rose by nearly 1 per cent in morning trade. Shares were last seen trading at Rs 2,426.95 on the BSE, up 0.94 per cent. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Time of India
06-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Nestle India's permanent employee count down 3.8% in FY25
The number of permanent employees in Nestle India fell 3.8 per cent in FY25, though the maker of Maggi and KitKat increased its capex and is investing in new capabilities and capacities. The total number of on-roll employees of Nestle India was 8,419 in FY25, as compared to 8,736 a year ago. The increase in the median remuneration of employees in last fiscal year was 4.9 per cent. "The median percentage increase made in the salaries of employees other than the managerial personnel was 5.2 per cent while the increase in the remuneration of managerial personnel was 3.5 per cent," said Nestle India . Nestle India, which reported over Rs 20,000 crore sales in FY25, increased capex level from 1.8 per cent of sales in 2015 to 10 per cent of sales in FY25, said its outgoing Chairman Suresh Narayanan , while addressing the shareholders. The maker of Maggi, Nescafe and KitKat has already announced a succession plan, appointing Manish Tiwary as a Director and Managing Director for a five-year term effective August 1, 2025. Tiwary has been appointed as Managing Director (Designate) from February 1, 2025 and as Key Managerial Personnel from April 24, 2025. For the two months of service, Tiwary was paid a remuneration of nearly Rs 3 crore. "During financial year 2024-25, Manish Tiwary was paid a remuneration of Rs 29.94 million. Additionally, as per the terms agreed by the Board of Directors with Manish Tiwary, he was given a lump sum payout of Rs 151.96 million, with applicable tax deducted at source, at the time of joining the company to compensate for his long-term incentives loss...," said Nestle India. In FY25, total remuneration of CMD Suresh Narayanan was at Rs 23.47 crore.
