Volumes decline in non-Maggi portfolio disconcerting

Nestle India Ltd does not disclose segmental details in quarterly results and these disclosures shared in the annual report feature disappointments particularly on volumes. While
prepared dishes and Cooking aids (primarily Maggi noodles) sales declined by 55.6% YoY in CY15 to INR13.1b (15.6% of sales in CY15) due to the Maggi issue, the largest segment, milk and nutrition (55.4% of sales in CY15) grew by only 2.1% YoY in value terms, the lowest level of growth since the turn of the
millennium. Even this growth in the segment was mainly led by realization
growth of 4.9% with volumes declining 2.7% YoY, the fourth consecutive year
of volume decline in what is Nestle India’s largest segment. The other two non-
Maggi segments, Chocolate and Confectionary as well as beverages also
reported disappointing numbers in CY15 with volumes for both segments
actually declining in double digits by 19.5% and 10.3% respectively. Volumes
for both these segments show a worsening trend in recent years.