Nestle India's December Quarter Results Today: What To Expect

Nestle India shares were in focus on Wednesday as the FMCG major was later in the day scheduled to announce its earnings for the December 2016 quarter. Shares in Nestle India were down 0.7 per cent in afternoon trade as the markets awaited results from the Indian unit of Swiss giant Nestle. The relaunch of Nestle India's Maggi instant noodles has been successful so far. However, the government's demonetisation move - which took out 86% of cash out of circulation - is likely to impact Nestle's earnings in the quarter, according to analysts.

Here are some other things to expect from Nestle India's quarterly earnings:

Analysts polled by NDTV expect Nestle India to report a 30 per cent year-on-year increase in profit after tax or PAT at Rs 238 crore over total sales of Rs 2,148 crore in the quarter that ended on December 31, 2016. The company had logged a net profit of Rs 183 crore over total sales of Rs 1,791 crore for the corresponding period a year ago. The expected sales of Rs 2,148 crore will be 20 per cent higher compared with the year-ago period.

EBITDA or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization is seen at Rs 398 crore. This is almost 13 per cent higher compared with 353 crore posted by the FMCG firm in the previous year.

EBITDA margins - a measurement of a company's operating profitability as a percentage of its total revenue - are expected to remain flat at 17.9 per cent.

Motilal Oswal had in December last year released a report on the impact of notes ban on corporate earnings. Terming the demonetisation move a "near-term blip" for the consumer and retail sector, the domestic brokerage had said companies such as Nestle India are expected to have a limited impact on their earnings. "Nestle, Britannia, ITC and Emami are unlikely to be significantly impacted beyond the next 2-3 quarters," it said.

At 1:08 pm, shares in Nestle India were trading 0.72 per cent lower at Rs 6,165.30 apiece on the National Stock Exchange or NSE, whose benchmark Nifty index was down 0.8 per cent.