April 21 (Reuters) – Nestle India posted a 26% increase in quarterly profit on Tuesday, benefiting from strong demand for packaged foods, including KitKat chocolates and Maggi instant noodles.
After a long slowdown in consumption, demand began picking up about four quarters ago, driven by easing inflation and tax cuts.
For Nestle India, revenue during the March quarter grew 23% to 67.48 billion rupees, with the company posting its highest-ever domestic sales.
The Indian unit of Swiss food major Nestle said net profit stood at 11.14 billion rupees ($119.12 million) for the fourth quarter ended March 31, compared to 8.85 billion rupees a year earlier.
But Middle East-linked crude price rises threaten to pressure consumer goods makers in the coming quarters.
($1 = 93.5188 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Urvi Dugar in Bengaluru and Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)