ncorporated in 1959 as Food Specialities, the company rechristened itself as Nestle India three decades later.

Nestle SA, Switzerland is the holding company with a 51 per cent stake. In order to conform to Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) rules, the Swiss parent reduced its stake to 40 per cent in 1978. With the easing of foreign ownership rules in the 1990s, the parent increased its stake to 51 per cent through a preferential issue in 1993. The parent Nestle SA is the worlds leading food company with revenues of almost $50 bn. Its product line includes beverages, milk and nutrition products, ice creams, chocolates, confectionery and pharmaceutical products. The pharmaceutical division is the most profitable though it accounts for only six per cent of worldwide revenues. The highest contributor, however, is the beverages division which contributes 38 per cent to total revenues. Nestle SA has a presence in more than 80 countries worldwide through its subsidiaries and branches with around 500 factories. For ease of operations, the company divides the globe into three primary zones Europe, the Americas and Asia, Oceania and Africa. America accounts for 32 per cent of revenues followed by Europe. Nestle India contributes around 3.6 per cent to the Asia, Oceania and Africa zone and 0.7 per cent to the parents global revenue. The Indian subsidiary contributes around two per cent of worldwide profits of Nestle. Business Beginning with Milkmaid condensed milk, Nestle has expanded its product range with new products in food segments such as coffee, noodles, sauces, pickles, chocolates and confectionery. It has six factories in India. Nestle brands, ranging from Nescafe, Milo, Maggi to Kit Kat and Polo, enjoy a high brand equity in each of their respective categories. Through its well-diversified food product portfolio, Nestle has been able to achieve an impressive growth in both topline and bottomline. Analysts claim that Nestle has been the beneficiary of the trend of faster growth in food companies vis--vis other categories like personal care and cosmetics. Expansion Recently, the company expanded its product range to mineral water under the brand Pure Life, dahi (curd), butter and ultra heat treated(UHT) milk. The company aims to achieve growth through these products by leveraging on its strong brand equity. It will, however, have to face tremendous competition from existing players in the market (except in the category of UHT milk). The growth rate of these products is estimated to be around four to six per cent. The role of UHT in the Indian consumers brand basket remains a question mark. It remains to be seen how consumers of one of the largest milk- producing countries in the world, where fresh milk is easily available, will take to this product. Meanwhile, a few analysts believe that Chococafe, a product with a combination of cocoa and coffee is likely to attract new customers. Nestle is slated to launch number of new products during the rest of the current fiscal. Financials From December 1996 to December 2000, the company had been growing at a compounded annual rate of eight per cent, which is in line with its parent. But the Indian company has shown a healthy 22 per cent bottomline growth compared to the parents 13 per cent. In the quarter ended September 2001, Nestle India registered a revenue growth of more than 13 per cent at Rs 533 crore, over the corresponding period of the previous year. Net profit grew by 17 per cent at Rs 58 crore over the period. Currently, the stock is trading at Rs 497 at a price earnings ratio (P/E) of 26. It is a good pick for the long-term. ]

Category Product Categories & product width

Nestle
Milk Products & Nutrition Prepared Dishes & Cooking Aids Beverages Chocolates & Confectionery

Product length

Nestle Beverages y Nescafe Classic, SUNRISE Premium, special, cappuccino y Nestea Iced Tea, Iced Tea with green tea, Instant hot tea mixes, 3 in 1
Prepared Dishes & Cooking Aids

Cadbury Chocolates Beverages Candy Biscuits Gum Chocolates Dairy Milk y Fruit & Nut, Crackle and Roast
y

y Perk Celebrations y Panned flavours in Dark Chocolate y y y y

Almond, Cadbury Dairy Milk Wowie Cadbury Dairy Milk 2 in 1

y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y

2 minute noodles Vegetable Atta Noodles Cuppa Mania Soups Masala-ae-Magic Sauces Pizza Mazaa Magic cubes Multigrainz noodles Bhuna Masala Coconut masala milk powder Pazzta Pichkoo Imli Pichkoo Sanjeevani Cup soup Kit Kat Standard & Chunky Munch Standard & Pop Choc Milky Bar Standard, Choo, Eclairs & Crispy wafer Eclairs Standard & Milky Bar Bar-One Nestle Milk Chocolate Polo

Hazelnut/Cashew/Almond Fine Assorted in Dark Chocolates Mocha Almond/Rum n Raisin/Black forest/Cashew Cointreau Band-wrapped bars in Milk Chocolate - Cashew Appeal/Raisin Apricot/Almond Treat Panned in Milk Chocolate - Almond Treat/Cashew Magic/Almond magic/ Raisin Magic/Coffee Apricot Fine Assorted in Milk Chocolates Nutbutterscotch/Fruit & Nut/Crackle/Rum n Raisin/Coffee Apricot

Chocolates & Confectionery

Eclairs y Standard y Rich Brownie Bournvita y Chocolate y 5 star magic y Lil Champs Candy
y

y y y

Halls Orange , Mentho lyptus, Lemon Menthol flavour

y y y y

Biscuits y Oreo Gum y Bubbaloo cool mint, strawberry and mixed fruit flavours y