Nestle India is unlikely to remain listed for a long time in the future on Indian stock exchanges, according to Citigroup's equity research arm Smith Barney's latest report on the Swiss major's annual report for 2002-03.
"Nestle India's stock trades thinly and with the parent's buyback programme, the free float is steadily on a decline. With the parent intent on unifying the holding under one common share issuance, we believe the local company may not be listed for a long time in the future," Smith Barney said.
However, both Smith Barney and investment bank HSBC have praised Nestle India's financial performance in 2002-03, noting that the company registered the highest growth rate in consumer non-durables sector in 2002 with 14.6 per cent volume growth in the domestic market.
Also, Smith Barney noted that parent company Nestle SA's commitment to local business was 'high.'
"An impressive performance across businesses and improvement in most balance sheet ratios are the key features (of Nestle's annual report for 2002-03)," it said.
Meanwhile, as per data available with the Bombay Stock Exchange, Nestle SA's stake in Nestle India increased by almost 5 per cent during the 12 months ended March 31, 2003 to 30.22 per cent, while the stake of Nestle Holdings continued to remain constant at 28.48 per cent.
Thus, during 2002-03, promoter stake in Nestle India increased to 58.71 per cent from 53.98 per cent as on March 31, 2002.
