FMCG major Nestle India on Thursday reported a 1.27 per cent drop in net profits for the quarter ended March 31 as rising input prices hit a 10-year high.
Nestle India, the maker of Maggi noodles and KitKat, posted a net profit of Rs 594.71 crore for the January-March period compared with Rs 602.25 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. This came even as domestic sales rose to Rs 3,794.26 crore from Rs 3,442.03 crore in the year-ago period. Nestle India blamed the lacklustre performance on rising inflation.
WNS net up 41%
WNS, the business process management (BPM) firm, has posted a 41.50 per cent rise in profits for the quarter ended March 31. Net profits of the company rose to $38.9 million from $27.5 million in the same period of the previous year.
It was also higher than the profit of $34.3 million posted during the preceding three months. During the period, revenues were higher at $298.8 million, up 22.5 per cent from $243.9 million in Q4 of last year.
The company said in a press statement that from a balance sheet perspective, it ended the January-March quarter with $413 million in cash and investments and no debt. During the fourth quarter, it generated $67.9 million in cash from operations, incurred $7.4 million in capital expenditures, and made scheduled debt payments of $ 8.4 million.
“The market for BPM services, driven by digitisation, continues to be robust. WNS is executing well in this environment, delivering solid financial results for our shareholders and increased value for our clients.. We enter fiscal 2023 with differentiated positioning in the BPM market, strong business momentum, a healthy new business pipeline, and high visibility to solid top line growth,” Keshav Murugesh, WNS’ Chief Executive Officer said.
However, the company pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the global economy, its clients’ businesses, and also its own operations, financials, and visibility.
“Revenue has been pressured by lower client volumes, delays in new business ramps, client concessions, and facility lockdowns which impact service delivery. WNS is actively working to manage our clients’ changing requirements, adapt our service delivery models, ensure data security, and manage costs’’, it disclosed.