Nestle market cap crosses Rs 1 trillion

Mumbai: The maker of Maggi instant noodles, Nestle India Ltd, on Tuesday joined the elite club of companies that have a market capitalisation of over Rs 1 trillion. Nestle shares have surged over 34% so far this year outpacing benchmark Sensex index which gained 7.23%. The stock has gained nearly 8% since the start of July and over 50% from its February low.

During the day, Nestle shares rose as much as 3.56% to hit an all time high of Rs 10,574 a share. The script closed at Rs 10540 on BSE, up 3.23% from previous close. At closing its market cap stood at Rs 1.02 trillion, according to data from the BSE.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd is India’s most valued consumer goods company with a market capitalisation of Rs 3.64 trillion, followed by ITC Ltd, which has a market capitalisation of around Rs 3.29 trillion. This year so far, HUL has gained 23% and ITC 2.5%.

Analysts expect Nestle will report strong sales growth on the back of continued new launches. The company will announce its June quarter earnings on 3 August. According to 11 Bloomberg analyst estimates, Nestle may post a net profit of Rs 367.30 crore while its revenues will be Rs 2,697.50 crore.

In 2017, Nestle reported strong volume growth, after de-growth over three consecutive years, due to lower prices and implementation of the goods and services tax.

“We remain positive on growth prospects as the company is aggressively launching new products and variants in its existing brands,” ICICI Direct Research said in a 11 May report.

Recently, the company entered the packaged breakfast market in India with the launch of Nesplus. The company hopes to crack a market where a majority of the 1.3 billion people still prefer fresh home cooked breakfast.

Of the analysts covering the stock, 24 have a Buy rating, 13 have a Hold, and 3 have a Sell, according to Bloomberg data.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.