NESTLEIND

Adds Nestle India comment in paragraph 4

March 7 (Reuters) - Nestle India NEST.NS said on Friday it received a warning from the country's markets regulator for a breach of insider trading regulations "by a designated person of the company".

The Indian arm of Swiss food giant Nestle NESN.S said its compliance officer received an administrative warning letter from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Thursday.

However, the firm stopped short of revealing details from the letter or about the person.

Nestle India "would like to categorically assert that this information has no impact on the financial and operational capabilities," the Maggi instant noodles maker told Reuters, without specifying details.

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Janane Venkatraman)

(([email protected]; +91 867-525-3569;))

By Haripriya Suresh

MUMBAI, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Nestle India NEST.NS will consider raising prices of its products by a small margin to counter inflation in coffee, cocoa and edible oil while aiming to keep sales coming in, a top executive said on Monday.

Profits at Corporate India came under pressure in the October-December quarter due to the double whammy of consumers cutting back due to inflation in large cities and high prices of commodities.

"Wherever (price increase) is absolutely essential, we will have to take some pricing action," Nestle India Managing Director Suresh Narayanan told Reuters at the sidelines of an industry conference in Mumbai.

The company, which makes the Nescafe brand of instant coffee, will keep the price hikes "as low as possible," Narayanan said, adding that "price increases are not the salvation for the industry because it impacts volume growth."

India's plan to cut personal income tax rates in fiscal 2026, unveiled earlier this month, is expected to put more disposable income in the hands of the people and eventually boost consumption.

Affluent consumers in India, however, have been splurging, including on hyperfast delivery platforms such as Swiggy's SWIG.NS Instamart, Zomato's ZOMT.NS Blinkit and upstart Zepto.

While these platforms have eaten into the market share of traditional sales channels in large cities, Nayaranan pinned the chances of them maintaining their growth rate on how the models work in the longer term, given they are still making a loss.

Last month, Nestle India, the Indian arm of the eponymous Swiss consumer goods giant NESN.S, reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly profit, hit by a slowdown in consumer spending in major cities and higher product prices.

(Reporting by Haripriya Suresh in Mumbai; Writing by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

(([email protected]; +91 867-525-3569;))

ZURICH/GDANSK, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Here are some of the main factors that may affect Swiss stocks on Thursday:

NESTLE NEST.NS

Nestle posted slightly better than expected full-year sales growth on Thursday as the world's biggest packaged food company raised prices for its coffees, chocolates and pet food.

CREDIT SUISSE

Bank of America BAC.N has doubled the size of its banking team in Switzerland, its CEO said, after Credit Suisse's collapse.

COMPANY STATEMENTS

* Barry Callebaut BARN.S - places dual-tranche EUR 1,750 mln bond

* DSM-Firmenich DSFIR.AS - posts full year results and sees adjusted EBITDA for 2025 at at least EUR 2.4 bln

* Idorsia LTD IDIA.S - publishes resolutions for upcoming bondholder meeting

* Santhera SANN.S - announces agreement with german GKV-SV on reimbursement amount for Agamree (Vamorolone)

* BCV BCVN.S - posts FY revenue of CHF 1.16 billion.

* Swisscom AG SCMN.S - Full-year earnings release due.

ANALYST'S VIEWS

GEBERIT AG GEBN.S - BERENBERG RAISES TO BUY FROM HOLD; RAISES TARGET PRICE TO CHF 604 FROM CHF 511

MEDACTA GROUP SA MOVE.S BERENBERG RAISES TARGET PRICE TO CHF 160 FROM CHF 150

ECONOMY

Swiss January CPI due at 0730 GMT. Seen -0.1 m/m, +0.4 y/y.

(Reporting by Zurich newsroom and Gdansk newsroom)

((+41 58 306 7336; [email protected]))

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Adds consumer, trade body and company reaction; updates shares

By Praveen Paramasivam and Sai Ishwarbharath B

CHENNAI/BENGALURU, Feb 1 (Reuters) - India's plans to cut personal income tax rates will put more disposable income in the hands of the people and eventually boost consumption in the world's fifth-largest economy, top executives said on Saturday.

The comments came after the government in its annual budget said that people earning up to 1.28 million rupees ($14,800) per year will not have to pay any taxes, raising its threshold from 700,000 rupees. It also cut tax rates for people earning above the new threshold.

Private consumption accounts for about 60% of India's gross domestic product.

Consumption in India has been under stress in the last few quarters as shoppers tightened their purse strings amid stubborn inflation and modest wage growth.

"Tax reforms benefiting the middle class will increase disposable income, further fuelling demand across essential and aspirational categories," Godrej Consumer Products' GOCP.NS CFO Aasif Malbari said.

The news boosted the shares of consumer goods .NIFTYFMCG, autos .NIFTYAUTO and realty .NIFTYREAL firms by 4.1%, 2.1% and 3%, respectively. It also pushed the shares of food delivery firms Zomato ZOMT.NS and Swiggy SWIG.NS 7.8% and 8.7% higher, respectively.

The government's plan is estimated to help around 25-30 million personal tax payers save about 100,000 rupees annually, according to Kamal Bali, managing director of Volvo Group India.

"It will boost discretionary capital spends like buying a vehicle. (People) will have better repaying capacity for EMIs," Bali told Reuters.

Others echoed the sentiment.

"The tax cut is going to be a helpful factor in accelerating demand for various kinds of consumer products," RC Bhargava, chairman of Maruti Suzuki India MRTI.NS, India's top carmaker, told TV channel ET Now.

The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), a trade body, expects the government's plan to make car upgrades affordable to more middle-class families, leading to higher demand for SUVs, sedans, and premium two-wheelers.

Some consumers welcomed the news.

"I would have one less stressful obligation since I would no longer have to pay taxes," Chennai-based software engineer S. Surya said, adding he planned to use the money he saved "on higher-quality essentials and restaurant visits".

Some others were less thrilled.

"They haven't reduced goods and services tax or petrol prices," Pranav Charan, another engineer, lamented.

($1 = 86.5360 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam, Sai Ishwarbharath B and Nishit Navin; Editing by Dhanya Skariachan and Sonia Cheema)

(([email protected]; +91 867-525-3569;))

** Shares of Nestle India NEST.NS rise 1.88% to 2,259 rupees ahead of December-qtr results

** Analysts on avg expect the Maggi noodles maker to report Q3 profit of 7.31 bln rupees- LSEG data

** A year ago profit, without the one-time charge, was 7.62 bln rupees and including one-time charge was 6.55 bln rupees

** Analysts expect moderation in urban demand to continue

** Margin pressure to remain from elevated prices of key commodities such as cocoa, coffee etc, analysts add

** Stock rated 'hold' on avg by 33 analysts; median PT at 2470 rupees - LSEG data

** With session's gain, shares trim last 12 months decline to 9.6%

** Peer Hindustan Unilever HLL.NS reported largely flat y/y Q3 profit, as it flagged margin pressure ahead

(Reporting by Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]))

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own. Refiles to add hyperlinks.

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, Jan 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - If India wants to prop up its stalling economic growth, it will have to sacrifice some of the financial stability underpinning the country’s moment on the global stage.

Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, consumption by India’s 294 million households has nearly trebled to $2.07 trillion over the past decade. It is the top engine of the $4 trillion economy and drives around 60% of GDP. Yet consumer spending is weak and has decoupled dramatically from the path of national output since the year ended March 2023, according to economists at state-owned Punjab National Bank.

Beyond the luxury market where well-heeled Indians are spending big on the high life, cracks are appearing; car sales crawled during the usually busy annual Diwali holiday in October-November. Indians are eating out less often. Starbucks SBUX.O and its partner Tata Consumer Products TACN.NS, meanwhile, are pushing the brakes on expansion; their target to hit 1,000 coffee stores by 2028 is unchanged but they are slowing the pace of new openings. Starbucks has more than 6,500 stores in China.

As it stands, India expects its GDP growth in the current year to March will hit a four-year low of 6.4%, the lower end of the pace policymakers envisioned the country sustaining for the next decade. In short, consumption is fading before it has had a real chance to flourish.

A weak jobs environment lies at the heart of the problem. The abundance of labour in the world’s most populous country is making wages crawl. It puts a perverse spin on the vaunted demographic dividend: casual and regular workers in 2023 earned an average real monthly wage roughly 1% lower than in the previous year, an International Labour Organization report based on official data shows. That’s prompted fears of a middle class shrinking instead of growing.

As a result of stagnant real incomes, middle-class Indians don't have much left over for the kind of discretionary purchases that would power a U.S.-style consumer economy.

"There used to be a middle segment, which used to be the segment that most of us fast moving consumer goods firms used to operate in, which is the middle class of the country, that seems to be shrinking," Suresh Narayanan, chair of Nestle’s India NEST.NS unit, warned in October. His peers have sounded an alarm about weak consumption in rural India for years.

The problem is worryingly broad-based. IT companies, typically the biggest private sector employers, are making fewer hires and paying less. Demand for their services like those provided by Tata Consultancy Services TCS.NS is growing slower. Automation and advances in technology including artificial intelligence are killing repetitive jobs in outsourcing and financial services, so firms are not backfilling roles when they fall vacant.

Farmers’ incomes benefited in 2024 from a strong monsoon but it’s a brief respite after two years of stagnating incomes for the 46% of the workforce depending on agriculture. Climate change is upsetting weather and food-inflation patterns: in June, rating agency Moody's tipped water stress as a sovereign credit risk to India.

The long-term answer is to create more jobs outside of agriculture. Modi’s administration is pushing manufacturing investment in the hope that factories will absorb workers and pay them better. However, the foreign direct investment required to speed progress is declining.

In the short term, New Delhi needs to act to avoid a return to a trend of weak output and consumption growth following a two-year phase of post-pandemic revenge spending. The reduced private spending is hitting growth directly and shrinking tax collections. Poor demand also means lower private investment, and that burdens the government with an even bigger role in turbocharging GDP.

Authorities could cut taxes to stimulate consumption. They are considering lower levies on personal income in the budget in February, Reuters reported in December, citing two official sources. Yet New Delhi will be hard-pressed to forego revenue without imperiling its goal to consolidate the fiscal deficit to 4.5% of GDP by March 2026.

A larger deficit could further beat down consumption if it prompts a spike in the government’s borrowing costs, triggers a lower sovereign credit rating and weakens demand for the rupee in international currency markets. That would make India’s oil import bill heftier and prompt a surge in inflation: Oil prices are already spiking following U.S. curbs on oil tankers supplying Russian crude.

Those problems could quickly compound if, as expected, Indian policymakers try to keep exports competitive by allowing the rupee to track the weakening yuan. That currency is getting battered by fears of a second trade war between China and the United States under Donald Trump’s imminent presidency.

Alternatively, the central bank could boost consumption by making it easier for individuals to tap credit. New governor, Sanjay Malhotra, will be wary of risks stemming from eye-popping growth in consumer loan books as the banking system only recently recovered from a corporate bad debt crisis. The Reserve Bank of India raised risk weights for unsecured lending in November 2023. These measures added to a chill in consumer spending – personal loans are growing at nearly half their pace a year ago. Nonetheless, the RBI expects banks’ asset quality to weaken.

The rosy narrative of strong growth and macroeconomic stability is fragile. If policymakers do intervene, they would be better off doing it sooner rather than later.

Follow @ShritamaBose on X

(Editing by Una Galani and Aditya Srivastav)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on BOSE/
[email protected]))

Jan 15 (Reuters) - Nestle India Ltd NEST.NS:

• NESTLE INDIA LTD - GETS TAX ORDER FOR 2.3 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE5dRpBm

Further company coverage: NEST.NS

(([email protected];))

Nov 21 (Reuters) - Nestle India Ltd NEST.NS:

• GOT APPELLATE AUTHORITY ORDER CONFIRMING TAX DEMAND 6 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE2WmQB4

Further company coverage: NEST.NS

(([email protected];;))

By Dhwani Pandya

MUMBAI, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Indian consumer goods maker Marico MRCO.NS expects urban consumption will take at least six months to revive, its managing director told Reuters, signaling more pain for the sector from food inflation which has hit a 15-month high.

With a market cap of $9.12 billion, Marico is best known for its iconic coconut oil brand "Parachute" and edible oil brand "Saffola", and competes with the likes of Hindustan Unilever HLL.NS and Nestle NEST.NS.

India's annual inflation for food items, which account for nearly half of the consumption basket, hit a 15-month high of 10.87% in October, and retail inflation surged to a 14-month high in the same month, driven by a jump in vegetable prices and dashing hopes of an interest rate cut by the central bank next month.

"It will take a couple of quarters for urban consumption to revive. But I think once the food inflation is sorted out to a large extent, urban consumption is expected to recover," Marico Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Saugata Gupta said in an interview in Mumbai.

"Whenever there is a food inflation, there is an impact on FMCG (fast moving consumer goods)...consumers either downgrade or titrate consumption," he added.

India's middle class, estimated to be a third of its 1.4 billion people, has been cutting spending due to higher food inflation, impacting the earnings of largest consumer goods firms.

Though consumption is mainly affected among the middle- and lower-income classes, there is not much impact on those with high incomes, Gupta said.

India has seen high luxury spending in recent months - German luxury car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz' car sales in India grew 13% in first nine months of this year, its best-everperformance, while sales of luxury apartments in country's top seven cities surged nearly 38% during that period.

Marico's international business contributes around 27% of consolidated revenue and it has a strong presence in Bangladesh, Vietnam and the Middle East, and is looking to expand operations in the United States and East Africa, as well as entering the Indonesian market, Gupta said.

In Bangladesh, where Marico has a distribution network of more than 770,000 outlets, the company's operations were briefly disrupted after violent student-led protests that led to the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August.

Gupta said Bangladesh's share of Marico's international revenues dropped from 44% in the year ended March 2024 to under 40% now, and could fall further as its grows more in other geographies.

(Reporting by Dhwani Pandya; Editing by Aditya Kalra and Ros Russell)

(([email protected];))

By Praveen Paramasivam, Shivangi Acharya

CHENNAI/NEW DELHI, Nov 13 - India's city dwellers are cutting spending on everything from cookies to fast food as persistently high inflation squeezes middle class budgets, threatening the country's brisk economic growth.

Slowing urban spending over the past three to four months has not only hurt the earnings of largest consumer goods firms, it has raised questions about the structural nature of India's long-term economic success.

Since the end of the pandemic, India's economic growth has been driven in large part by urban consumption, however, that now seems to be changing.

"There is a top end – the people with money are spending like that is going out of style," Nestle India Chairman Suresh Narayanan said.

"There used to be a middle segment, which used to be the segment that most of us fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) firms used to operate in, which is the middle class of the country, that seems to be shrinking."

Nestle India, which makes Kit Kats and other well-known goods, reported its first quarterly revenue drop since the COVID-hit June quarter in 2020.

While there is no officially defined income bracket for Indian middle class households, they are broadly estimated to account for a third of India's 1.4 billion people.

They are considered a key demographic both economically and politically, with middle class frustration seen as a significant factor behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi's weaker election performance this year.

Asia's third-largest economy is expected to expand 7.2% in the financial year ending March 2025, the fastest among its major peers.

Belying those rosy projections, however, are signs of a sharp slowdown in the household sector.

Indian urban consumption hit a two-year low this month, according to an index published by Citibank that captures indicators such as airline bookings, fuel sales and wages.

"While some of the fall could be temporary, the key macro drivers remain unfavourable," Citi's chief India economist Samiran Chakraborty said.

Growth in inflation-adjusted wage costs for listed Indian firms - a proxy for earnings of urban Indians - has remained below 2% for all the three quarters of 2024, well below the 10-year average of 4.4%, data from Citi showed.

Chakraborty cites this as a key factor impacting urban consumption, along with declining savings and tighter rules for personal loans.

Headline inflation has averaged 5% over the past 12 months, but food inflation has held above 8% as weather shocks elevated prices of vegetables, cereals and other essential foods. In October, retail inflation hit a 14-month high of 6.2% while food prices jumped to 10.9%.

Anecdotal data suggests retail sales rose close to 15% year-on-year during the 2024 festive season, which runs from August to November, Nomura said in a note last week, about half last year's pace.

"During this festival season, we have not spent at all," said Rajwanti Dahiya, 60, who survives on her husband's monthly pension of 30,000 Indian rupees ($356.76).

"Savings are low, barely there."

A 'SHRINKING' MIDDLE

India's central bank expects 7.2% GDP growth for the fiscal year ending March 2025 on the back of improved rural demand and a strong services sector.

Higher government investment could also support demand, said Rahul Bajoria, head of India and ASEAN economic research at Bank of America.

"If government spending kicks in, that probably does have some multiplier effects on private consumption spending as well," said Bajoria, who expects GDP growth at 6.8% in the current financial year.

Some are less optimistic with Citi and IDFC First Bank economists expecting GDP growth in the July-September quarter to miss the central bank's projected 7%, weighed by slower urban consumption.

That pessimism has hit consumer stocks with the Nifty FMCG index .NIFTYFMCG declining 13% since Oct. 1, compared with a 7.4% drop in the benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI.

Of the FMCG index's 15 constituent firms, only one reported a pickup in sales volume growth in the September quarter.

Consumers in large cities are swapping branded items from hair oil to tea for cheaper unbranded alternatives, reflected in the first sales volume decline in 11 quarters for the foods and refreshment group at Hindustan Unilever.

"We see the growth in big city standing down, although in smaller cities and in rural the growth continues to be good," Hindustan Unilever chief executive Rohit Jawa said last month, after reporting lower than expected earnings.

Consumers are also cutting back on dining out.

Fast-food chains such as McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut and KFC posted same-store sales declines, earnings showed.

While people are still coming, they are choosing cheaper meals, Rajeev Varman, CEO at Burger King operator Restaurant Brands Asia RESR.NS said after posting a 3% drop in quarterly same-store sales.

"We prefer budget-friendly stores that give good deals and discounts to manage our monthly expenditure," said 37-year old Avinash Crasto, a Mumbai marketing and sales executive who has a family of four and identifies as middle class.

($1 = 84.0640 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai and Shivangi Acharya in New Delhi; Editing by Sam Holmes)

(([email protected]; +91 867-525-3569;))

India File is published every Tuesday. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also subscribe here.

Nov 12 - By Ira Dugal, Editor Financial News, with global Reuters staff.

Hello, I'm Ira Dugal and I head financial news for Reuters in India. Join me each Tuesday as I lead you through the biggest stories out of India, and Asia.

Indian corporations have reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the July-September quarter. Are corporate report cards signalling a slowdown in the world's fastest growing major economy? That's our focus this week.

What does Donald Trump's return to the White House mean for emerging markets? Scroll down for "Market matters".

THIS WEEK IN ASIA

** China unveils $1.4 trillion local debt package but no direct stimulus

** Putin signs into law mutual defence treaty with North Korea

** Toyota aims to ramp up China production

** Pakistan limits outdoor activities, market hours to curb air pollution-related illness

A GROWTH SPEED BUMP

Big names in Indian consumer goods, including Hindustan Unilever and Nestle India, were arguably the top disappointments during the past month's quarterly earnings season, when negative surprises and foreign investor selling drove the benchmark Nifty 50 down 6.2% for October - its steepest monthly drop in four-and-a-half years.

That wasn't just bad news for the companies' share prices. It rattled investors with a warning that India's burgeoning urban middle class - a key force driving the world's fastest growing major economy - were reining in spending on goods from soap to shampoo to biscuits and tea.

That could be a harbinger of unwelcome change for an economy accustomed to rapid growth, which reached 8.2% in the last financial year and is forecast to remain above 7% this year.

So far, analysts are seeing the slowdown at least partly as cyclical, a normal reaction after a period of strong growth, rather than as a sign of flagging demand. But they also point to inflation, seen hitting a 14-month high in October on higher food prices, as a more stubborn problem that is eroding urban spending power.

Whether the slowdown worsens or stabilises depends on the strength of rural demand, after a strong monsoon and recent easing of farm policies, as well as the pace of government spending and a possible easing of interest rates by the central bank, which has also loosened its grip on liquidity.

The starkest earnings underperformance was among consumer goods firms, especially those that sell daily-use products to the urban middle class.

Urban Indians, who account for more than one-third of the world's most populous nation, spend 71% more than their rural counterparts, according to monthly consumption data. Consumption comprises 60% of India's GDP.

Nestle India Chairman Suresh Narayan said the market was clearly facing muted demand, as well as pressure from inflation. "Food inflation has been a cause of concern due to sharp uptick in prices of fruits and vegetables and (edible) oil," he told reporters after the company's earnings release.

He noted that growth in the food and beverage sector, in double-digits just a couple quarters ago, is now down to 1.5-2%.

Analysts linked the slower spending growth to a decline in disposable incomes.

India economists at Citi note that growth in inflation-adjusted wage costs for listed Indian firms - a proxy for urban dwellers' earnings - has held below 2% for all three quarters of calendar 2024, and well below the 10-year average of 4.4%.

Not all the earnings news was bad. Colgate Palmolive reported stronger demand from rural areas, while Marico, which sells cooking oil brands popular with rural consumers, said it expects double-digit revenue growth in the second half of the financial year.

Sales of high-end goods also proved resilient. In the auto sector, Mahindra & Mahindra, which sells popular sports utility vehicles, outperformed earnings expectations, although Maruti, with a wider portfolio that includes entry-level cars, was more vulnerable to sluggish demand.

All in all, analysts and economists see the latest quarterly earnings as more bad news than good.

Jefferies India downgraded full-year earnings estimates for 63% of the 121 large companies it covers, the highest downgrade ratio since 2020, when the COVID-19 crisis hit. It attributed that to a cyclical slowdown in the economy.

For the full year, Barclays has lowered its forecast for GDP growth to 6.8% from 7%.

Will growth continue to slip in the second half of the financial year, or will it stabilise? Write to me with your views at [email protected].

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"I look forward to renewing our collaboration to further strengthen the India-U.S. Comprehensive Global and Strategic Partnership. Together, let's work for the betterment of our people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity."

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Republican Donald Trump on Wednesday after he won the U.S. presidential election.

With Trump's win, India is open to freeing up market access for U.S. firms, sources told Reuters.

MARKET MATTERS

Investors hoping for a "Goldilocks" moment for emerging markets in 2025 are facing significant uncertainty after the U.S. presidential elections.

The dollar's rigorous rally, higher bond yields and the prospect of the Federal Reserve slowing the pace of interest rate cuts weighed on emerging market currencies.

Asia could be surprisingly resilient in the face of this increased uncertainty. Investors may also look for safety in Indian assets, given its domestically focused economy.

(By Ira Dugal; Editing by Edmund Klamann)

Adds revenue, background in paragraphs 4-8

Nov 11 (Reuters) - Indian biscuit maker Britannia Industries BRIT.NS posted a smaller-than-expected second-quarter profit on Monday, hurt by weaker demand for consumer goods, particularly in urban areas amid high inflation.

The company, which sells Jim Jam and NutriChoice biscuits, reported a nearly 10% decline in consolidated net profit to 5.31 billion rupees ($62.95 million) for the three months ended Sept. 30, missing estimates.

Analysts, on average, had expected 6.22 billion rupees, according to estimates compiled by LSEG.

Urban consumers in the world's most populous country have been cutting back on spending due to rising prices of essentials, including food, squeezing the bottom lines of major packaged goods makers.

There was "tepid consumer demand" in most packaged consumer goods categories and "severe commodity inflation," Managing Director Varun Berry said, echoing comments made by many of the firm's counterparts, including Nestle India NEST.NS.

The company's earnings are in line with the downbeat results posted by its peers, such as Dove soap maker Hindustan Unilever HLL.NS, Maggi-parent Nestle India, and tobacco major ITC ITC.NS, which were hurt by factors including weak urban demand.

Britannia's revenue rose 5% to 46.68 billion rupees, but slowed from a 6% increase in the previous quarter and missed market expectations of 47.39 billion rupees, according to estimates compiled by LSEG.

The company's total expenses rose by 8% during the quarter, hurt by higher prices of ingredients such as wheat and cocoa.

($1 = 84.3580 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Ashna Teresa Britto in Bengaluru and Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan)

(([email protected];))

Adds analyst comment in paragraphs 4 and 6, background in paragraphs 5 and 9

Oct 24 (Reuters) - Shares in Hindustan Unilever HLL.NS fell 7% on Thursday, tracking their worst day in nine months, after reporting quarterly earnings below estimates due to an urban slowdown, with analysts expecting the pain to continue in the near term.

For the consumer goods industry, growth in urban pockets - which accounts for two-thirds of Hindustan Unilever's revenue - has lagged that in rural areas over the last three quarters.

Analysts do not expect a swift change in fortunes for large consumer goods makers such as Nestle India NEST.NS and Hindustan Unilever.

Axis Securities expects "short term pain" for Hindustan Unilever, analyst Preeyam Tolia said, adding that the brokerage anticipates 5%-6% revenue growth for the rest of this fiscal, versus a historical average of 10%.

Consumer goods majors also face stiff competition from smaller brands stepping up their product launches and expanding deeper into rural India.

"Competition has increased ... The regional players have become bigger," Tolia said.

For the second quarter, the Dove soap-maker reported a near-4% fall in profit to 26.12 billion rupees ($310.8 million), missing estimates of 26.88 billion rupees, according to data compiled by LSEG.

"A visible recovery remains elusive ... We are disappointed," Antique Stock Broking said in a note.

Among peers, Nestle India reported a drop in profit, while soft drink makers Dabur India DABU.NS and Varun Beverages VARB.NS posted downbeat India numbers

Hindustan Unilever's shares, which have been largely flat this year and are rated "buy", on average, were down 7.1% at 2,470 rupees. The stock is the second-biggest loser on the benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI index.

Other consumer stocks including Nestle India, Britannia Industries BRIT.NS and Dabur India DABU.NS were down 1.5%-3%.

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam and Ashna Teresa Britto; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Sonia Cheema)

(([email protected]; +91 867-525-3569;))

Repeats story filed on Oct. 20 without changes

By Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI, Oct 20 (Reuters) - India's biggest group of retail distributors has asked the antitrust authority to investigate three quick commerce companies - Zomato's ZOMT.NS Blinkit, Swiggy and Zepto - for alleged predatory pricing, a letter showed on Sunday.

Quick commerce is a new shopping rage in India, with companies promising deliveries of anything from groceries to electronics within 10 minutes, reshaping how Indians shop and challenging e-commerce giants such as Amazon AMZN.O.

In a letter dated Oct. 18, All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF), which represents 400,000 retail distributors of major companies including Nestle NEST.NS and Hindustan Unilever HLL.NS, told the antitrust body quick commerce firms were practising predatory pricing - or offering deep discounts and selling below cost to lure customers.

Zomato's Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy, which runs the Instamart delivery service and is backed by SoftBank 9434.T, did not respond to Reuters queries.

The letter said several consumer goods companies were dealing directly with quick commerce firms to increase their reach, sidelining the traditional salespeople who for decades went from one shop to another to deliver orders.

Such practices make "it impossible for traditional retailers to compete or survive," said the letter, which is not public but was seen by Reuters.

"Implement protective measures for traditional distributors and small retailers to safeguard their interests," it urged the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

The CCI also did not respond to a query from Reuters and AICPDF declined to comment on its letter.

Annual sales on Indian quick commerce platforms are set to exceed $6 billion this year, with Blinkit having a nearly 40% market share, while Swiggy and Zepto around 30% each, research firm Datum Intelligence said.

The CCI has powers to initiate an investigation on its own if it find merit in complaints, a government official told Reuters on Sunday, asking not to be named because he was not authorised to speak publicly.

The CCI's investigation unit in August found bigger e-commerce players, Amazon and Walmart's WMT.N Flipkart, breached local laws through predatory pricing, allegations the companies deny.

Reflecting the strength of the quick commerce sector, Zomato's shares have doubled this year and Swiggy will in the coming weeks will launch its over $1 billion IPO.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; editing by Barbara Lewis)

(([email protected]; @adityakalra;))

By Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI, Oct 20 (Reuters) - India's biggest group of retail distributors has asked the antitrust authority to investigate three quick commerce companies - Zomato's ZOMT.NS Blinkit, Swiggy and Zepto - for alleged predatory pricing, a letter showed on Sunday.

Quick commerce is a new shopping rage in India, with companies promising deliveries of anything from groceries to electronics within 10 minutes, reshaping how Indians shop and challenging e-commerce giants such as Amazon AMZN.O.

In a letter dated Oct. 18, All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF), which represents 400,000 retail distributors of major companies including Nestle NEST.NS and Hindustan Unilever HLL.NS, told the antitrust body quick commerce firms were practising predatory pricing - or offering deep discounts and selling below cost to lure customers.

Zomato's Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy, which runs the Instamart delivery service and is backed by SoftBank 9434.T, did not respond to Reuters queries.

The letter said several consumer goods companies were dealing directly with quick commerce firms to increase their reach, sidelining the traditional salespeople who for decades went from one shop to another to deliver orders.

Such practices make "it impossible for traditional retailers to compete or survive," said the letter, which is not public but was seen by Reuters.

"Implement protective measures for traditional distributors and small retailers to safeguard their interests," it urged the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

The CCI also did not respond to a query from Reuters and AICPDF declined to comment on its letter.

Annual sales on Indian quick commerce platforms are set to exceed $6 billion this year, with Blinkit having a nearly 40% market share, while Swiggy and Zepto around 30% each, research firm Datum Intelligence said.

The CCI has powers to initiate an investigation on its own if it find merit in complaints, a government official told Reuters on Sunday, asking not to be named because he was not authorised to speak publicly.

The CCI's investigation unit in August found bigger e-commerce players, Amazon and Walmart's WMT.N Flipkart, breached local laws through predatory pricing, allegations the companies deny.

Reflecting the strength of the quick commerce sector, Zomato's shares have doubled this year and Swiggy will in the coming weeks will launch its over $1 billion IPO.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; editing by Barbara Lewis)

(([email protected]; @adityakalra;))

** Shares of Nestle India NEST.NS fall 3% to 2,386.1 rupees, lowest since June 4

* Stock among top losers on Nifty FMCG index .NIFTYFMCG, which is down 1.3%

** NEST heads for seventh straight session of declines

** Indian arm of Swiss food major Nestle NESN.S reported a near 9% fall in profit before one-time gain to 10.21 bln rupees (~$122 mln) in Q2

** Overall expenses grew 3.4% as high commodity prices especially for coffee and cocoa remained elevated, NEST said

** NEST was down about 0.5% before the results

** Thirty-four analysts covering the stock on avg have a "hold" rating; median PT is 2,660 rupees - LSEG data

** Stock down 9% so far this year vs 8% gain in Nifty FMCG index

($1 = 84.0250 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Ashna Teresa Britto in Bengaluru)

(([email protected] ; ( +91 8078332441))

Oct 16 (Reuters) - Nestle India Ltd NEST.NS:

• NESTLE INDIA - GETS ORDER FOR DEMAND OF CUSTOMS DUTY OF 1.9 MILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE3nnq4g

Further company coverage: NEST.NS

(([email protected];;))

Oct 7 (Reuters) - Nestle SA NESN.S has nominated former Amazon India exec Manish Tiwary to replace Suresh Narayanan as the managing director of its Indian unit when he retires next year.

The proposal to appoint Tiwary is subject to the board's nod, and if approved, will be effective from Aug. 1, 2025, a day after current Chairman and Managing Director Narayanan retires, Nestle India NEST.NS said on Monday.

In August, Tiwary resigned from his role at Amazon.com AMZN.O, heading the e-commerce giant's India operations. Prior to Amazon, he held various posts at Unilever's ULVR.L Indian HLL.NS and Gulf units, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Narayanan, who has spent over 26 years with the Nestle Group, was appointed as Nestle India's chairman in October 2015. Before that, he headed the company's operations in the Phillipines, Egypt and Singapore.

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

(([email protected]; X: @MukherjeeHritam;))

** Nestle India's NEST.NS and Godrej Consumer Products' GOCP.NS urban-centric distribution to come in handy for pet care business, analysts at Ambit Capital say

** Indian pet care market and pet food market is nascent at around 65 bln rupees ($774 mln), says Ambit

** Adds, pet food market clocked 20% compound avg growth rate over 2018-2023, which is higher than FMCG categories across health and personal care, and food and beverages segment

** Expect pet food market to be a concentrated industry with top 4-5 players garnering 70-80% market share; Nestle or GOCP to achieve 10%-15% market share over next decade

** GOCP had said earlier this month it will invest 5 bln rupees over 5 years for pet care biz, while Nestle had acquired Purina Petcare in 2022

** NEST down ~6% so far this year, while GOCP up 30%

($1 = 83.9330 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Ashna Teresa Britto in Bengaluru)

(([email protected] ; ( +91 8078332441))

Aug 8 (Reuters) - Indian consumer products' sales slowed sharply to a more-than-one-year low from April to June due to softening demand for personal care products and packaged wheat flour, especially in urban areas, market researcher NielsenIQ said on Thursday.

The overall sales volume growth slowed to 3.8% in the second quarter, compared with growth rates of 6.4% to 8.6% in the past four quarters, "largely due to macroeconomic headwinds," NielsenIQ said, without detailing the factors.

India's retail inflation hovered around 5% in the quarter, mostly due to high food prices, forcing consumers in the world's most populous country to cut back wherever possible to make ends meet.

The sales volume growth in rural areas slowed to 5.2%, from 7.6% in the previous quarter, but fared better than urban markets, where growth slowed even more sharply to 2.8% from 5.7%.

The growth in rural pockets outpaced urban areas for the first time in five quarters in the January-March period as consumer majors including Dove-soapmaker Hindustan Unilever HLL.NS trimmed prices to win back consumers.

In the coming quarters, packaged goods makers including rural-centric Dabur India DABU.NS and Emami EMAM.NS expect a further boost, helped by better monsoon and higher government spending, which usually translate to higher consumer spending.

"The timely arrival of monsoon, coupled with a rural-centric budget with a focus on rural infrastructure, agriculture and employment is a key positive for the sector," Dabur CEO Mohit Malhotra said on an earnings call earlier this month.

The likes of Maggi instant noodles-maker Nestle India NEST.NS and biscuits-manufacturer Britannia Industries BRIT.NS are also betting on rural recovery by making their products available at more stores.

For the June quarter, though, consumer goods makers have posted mixed results.

Urban-centric Nestle India reported its slowest growth in eight years as price increases drove consumers away, while more rural-focussed Hindustan Unilever reported higher earnings as price cuts boosted demand.

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

(([email protected]; +91 867-525-3569;))

Adds ITC statement, shares, background

BENGALURU, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Indian tobacco-to-hotels conglomerate ITC ITC.NS missed first-quarter profit estimates on Thursday as higher expenses and competition from more affordable brands hurt.

The Sunfeast biscuits maker's profit edged up to 49.17 billion rupees ($587.4 million) for the quarter but missed analysts' estimate of 51.62 billion rupees, per LSEG data.

ITC, like peers Dove-soapmaker Hindustan Unilever HLL.NS and Maggi noodles-manufacturer Nestle India NEST.NS, faced stiff competition from local rivals that typically offer cheaper alternatives.

There was high "competitive intensity" from local and regional manufacturers in categories such as biscuits, snacks, noodles, education and stationery products, ITC said in an investor presentation.

Meanwhile, total expenses rose nearly 11%.

India's retail inflation rate hovered around 5% during April-June, mostly due to high food prices, forcing consumers in the world's most populous country to cut back wherever possible to make ends meet.

For ITC, overall revenue from operations increased 7.2% to 182.20 billion rupees, mainly helped by higher sales of cigarettes.

Other consumer goods makers have reported mixed results.

Hindustan Unilever posted higher earnings as product price cuts led to increased demand while Nestle India reported its slowest growth in eight years as price increases drove consumers away.

Shares in ITC closed marginally lower ahead of results. In the April-June quarter, the stock fell 0.8%, compared to a 5.2% gain in the Nifty consumer goods index .NIFTFMCG.

($1 = 83.7060 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai and Ashna Teresa Britto in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

(([email protected]; +91 867-525-3569;))

BENGALURU, July 25 (Reuters) - Nestle India NEST.NS reported a smaller-than-expected rise in its June-quarter profit on Thursday as price increases drove shoppers to cheaper rivals, hurting the company's sales volumes.

The Indian arm of the Swiss food giant Nestle NESN.S reported a net profit of 7.47 billion rupees for the three-month period ended June, compared with 6.98 billion rupees a year earlier.

Analysts, on average, had expected a profit of 8.16 billion rupees, as per LSEG data.

(Reporting by Ashna Teresa Britto in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

(([email protected];))

July 24 (Reuters) - Nestle India Ltd NEST.NS:

• UPDATE ON JOINT VENTURE BETWEEN COMPANY AND DR. REDDY''S LABORATORIES LIMITED

• CO HAS ACQUIRED 49,000 EQUITY SHARES OF OF DR. REDDY'S AND NESTLÉ HEALTH SCIENCE

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE9W1p95

Further company coverage: NEST.NS

(([email protected];))

BENGALURU, July 23 (Reuters) - India's Hindustan Unilever HLL.NS posted a higher first-quarter profit on Tuesday, as much awaited rural recovery sparked demand revival in core segments.

The company, a unit of UK's Unilever ULVR.L, reported a 2.7% rise in profit to 25.38 billion rupees ($303.23 million) for the quarter ended June 30.

Analysts, on average, had expected a profit of 25.31 billion rupees, according to data from LSEG.

($1 = 83.6978 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Ashna Teresa Britto in Bengaluru)

(([email protected];))

July 8 (Reuters) - Nestle India Ltd NEST.NS:

• NESTLE INDIA- DIVIDEND OF 2.75 RUPEES PER SHARE

Source text for Eikon: [ID:]

Further company coverage: NEST.NS

(([email protected];))

The host is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, July 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Consumption is not a bright spot in the South Asian country, with growth half the pace of GDP. In this Exchange podcast, former Nestl é India NEST.NS board member Rama Bijapurkar explains why international companies need to stick their elbows out to tap the low-earning masses.

Listen to the podcast

Follow @ShritamaBose on X

Subscribe to Breakingviews' podcasts, Viewsroom and The Exchange.

(Editing by Aditya Sriwatsav and Katrina Hamlin)

(([email protected];))

** Shares of Nestle India NEST.NS rise as much as 3.04% to 2614.45 rupees, last up 1%

** Benchmark Nifty 50 index .NSEI, which NEST is a member of, gains 0.4%

** NEST's board approved continuation of royalty payment to Swiss parent Nestle SA NESN.S at current 4.5% rate

** 'KitKat' chocolate maker's shareholders, in May, had rejected a proposed royalty rate hike to 5.25%

** On the day, more than 80,000 shares of NEST traded in three blocks, priced between 2560 rupees and 2587 rupees apiece - LSEG data

** Average rating of 34 analysts covering the stock is "hold", median TP 2618 rupees - LSEG data

** YTD NEST down 3.5% vs a 7.8% rise in NSEI

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru)

(([email protected];))

June 12 (Reuters) - Nestle India Ltd NEST.NS:

• APPROVED CONTINUATION OF PAYMENT OF GENERAL LICENCE FEES (ROYALTY) AT CURRENT RATE OF 4.5% TO SOCIÉTÉ DES PRODUITS NESTLÉ S.A.

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE6kQjv4

Further company coverage: NEST.NS

(([email protected];;))

By Karin Strohecker and Caroline Valetkevitch

LONDON/NEW YORK, June 5 (Reuters) - Indian voters' tepid endorsement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves a weakened mandate for business-friendly reforms and has foreign money managers thinking twice about unleashing another wave of investment in the world's fastest-growing economy.

Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a third term in government but without a majority of its own for the first time since sweeping to power a decade ago.

India's stock market weathered its heaviest selling since the onset of the pandemic as the votes were tallied and net foreign selling was a record $1.5 billion on Tuesday. Stocks recovered some ground on Wednesday.

With the party losing most ground in rural areas, investors say land and labour reforms, that had been expected to unlock value and growth, will probably fall by the wayside while leaders focus on shoring up rural support which had faltered.

For global fund managers, who despite strong buying last year are generally underweight on India according to HSBC research, the uncertainty is reason enough for caution.

"You have the feeling that while the government was really geared towards business, there are other parts of the country that felt left behind," said Alessia Berardi, head of emerging macro strategy at Amundi Investment Institute - the research arm of Europe's biggest asset manager.

"So a more inclusive economy, a more efficient economy is important," she said.

In the market, stocks trading richly in anticipation of growth driven by infrastructure and manufacturing spending fell heaviest and those exposed to rural demand, such as Nestle India NEST.NS and in motorcycle maker Hero MotoCorp HROM.NS, rose.

Bonds weakened as traders priced risks that welfare spending goes up and budget consolidation is delayed. The tightly-managed rupee INR=IN skidded to a seven-week low.

"Over the past decade, India has been rewarded with a valuation premium for government stability...some of that valuation premium came out today," said Vikas Pershad, who manages India and Asia equities portfolios for M&G Investments.

"I think priorities might shift a little in the short-term...so more benefits for the rural consumer, the rural working poor."

DEFENSIVE

Investors have prospered under Modi, 73, as India's equity benchmarks have more than tripled since he started as leader in May 2014. Earnings growth drove annualised total return for the MSCI India index .dMIIN00000PUS to 7.1% over the period, against 1.3% for MSCI's Asia ex-Japan index .MIAPJ0000PUS.

To be sure, investors say the election outcome - with Modi's alliance winning 293 of 543 lower-house seats - is unlikely to derail this trajectory, nor is India's broadly stable currency and attractive debt market likely to be unduly ruffled.

"We're still seeing strong growth coming from India...I think it's a buying opportunity," said Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco in New York.

But few are talking about adding overall exposure and many are adjusting their portfolio following the result.

M&G's Pershad, for instance, who is positive on the market, was on Tuesday a modest seller of defence stocks and a buyer in healthcare. Analysts at CLSA turned defensive, dumping infrastructure conglomerate Larsen & Toubro LART.NT from their focus portfolio in favour of IT outsourcing firm HCL Tech HCLT.NS.

Next year's budget due in July is shaping as the next test of policy commitments, with expectations that India will use a recent windfall surplus from the central bank to reduce the deficit quicker below the targeted 5.1% for the year.

"Typically the budget is used to announce the five-year policies, so we should get a clearer idea of what the game plan is," said Sonal Varma, chief economist for India at Nomura in Singapore.

Foreign money is also sensitive to relative market moves, and gushed into India last year as managers with mandates to invest in Asia took down positions in China's tumbling markets and bought up in India - something that is beginning to reverse.

And uncertainty never helps.

"I'm telling clients don't be in a hurry to invest in India," said Paul Christopher, head of global market strategy at Wells Fargo Investment Institute in St. Louis, Missouri.

"It's still a pretty chaotic place."

(Additional reporting by Ankur Banerjee and Tom Westbrook in Singapore; Writing by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

(([email protected]; +65 6973 8284;))

Adds missing word in headline and paragraph 6 of May 30 story

By Bharath Rajeswaran

BENGALURU, May 30 (Reuters) - Hopes of a normal monsoon and a likely thrust from India's next government to address the stress in the bottom of the market are likely to spur consumption-linked themes for the rest of 2024, a fund manager at Ambit Asset Management said.

"Irrespective of whichever government comes to power after election results on June 4, we are already seeing a trend that is favourable for rural-facing companies or those catering to the bottom end of the market," Siddharth Bothra, fund manager at the flagship Ambit Coffee Can Fund, said on Wednesday.

"They are ripe for revival."

A widening wealth gap has led to a "K-shaped" recovery in India's consumption, with the premium and urban side of the market benefitting from demand for discretionary products like jewellery, while the bottom end of the market has lagged, Bothra says.

"The new government's likely focus is to take measures to address the stress in the rural and bottom of the market."

Ambit Asset Management manages assets worth over 27 billion rupees (about $324 million).

Moreover, the monsoon rains arriving a few days earlier than expected have also boosted the prospects of bumper harvests that could accelerate rural demand and consumption recovery.

Bothra expects telecom companies, two-wheeler makers and sellers of consumer staples to benefit the most.

"If those at the bottom end of the pyramid upgrade from using feature phones and 2G-phones to 3G-, 4G- and 5G-phones and their data usage rises, it will benefit telecom companies," said Bothra.

"The two-wheeler sales are still lesser than what it was in 2019. You have so many great quality companies which have solid fundamentals; they will greatly gain from consumption recovery."

Companies selling premium products such as cars, high-end electronics and jewellery have outperformed the market but fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) firms like Hindustan Unilever HLL.NS and Dabur DABUR.NS have trailed in comparison.

A pick-up in rural consumption could turn that around, said Bothra.

($1 = 83.2690 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Mumbai; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

(([email protected]; +91 9769003463;))