Nestle India's best day in two months adds ₹40,000 crore to market value of its FMCG peers

Shares of Nestle India ended with gains of over 4.5% on Thursday, October 16, in response to its September quarter results, which were reported during market hours.

The company's domestic sales were the highest ever in a quarter, according to its management, while margins, though lower, were in-line with expectations. Highlight of the quarter was the volume growth, which in "high-single-digits", was well above the CNBC-TV18 poll estimate of 1% to 2% growth.

Shares of Nestle India ended 4.8% higher on Thursday, adding ₹10,000 crore to its market capitalisation.

As a result of the rally seen in Nestle India, its other FMCG peers also saw gains between 2% to 4% in anticipation of a positive rub-off.

Shares of Varun Beverages and Tata Consumer Products gained over 3% each, while those of Britannia Industries gained 2.9%. Colgate-Palmolive's shares gained 2.6%, while those of United Spirits, Marico, Hindustan Unilever, and Radico Khaitan gained between 1.5% to 2.2%.

Excluding Nestle India, other FMCG names cumulatively added ₹40,000 crore to their overall market capitalization, led by Hindustan Unilever, which added over ₹9,500 crore, followed by ITC, Varun Beverages, Britannia and Tata Consumer Products.

Stock	Market Cap Addition (₹ Crore)
Hindustan Unilever	9,633
ITC	6,577
Varun Beverages	5,479
Britannia	4,047
Tata Consumer Products	3,473
United Spirits	1,855

"Nestle's numbers stood out on two counts. One, the superior growth that they probably exhibited, the 10.8% sales growth that has happened with higher single digit volumes and three out of their four categories, including confectionery, packaged foods, the coffee business also doing well, augurs well because this was a tough quarter for FMCG companies," Mayuresh Joshi of William O'Neil told CNBC-TV18.

"I think even the margins might start moving a tad bit higher, and that expectations of more stores expected to open up, specifically on the semi-urban and rural front, along with the plant at Sanand for Maggi, I think there can be significant push that can come through. Valuations have always remained expensive, but if they are able to deliver in Q3, Q4 with GST rationalisation those premium multiples might work," he said.

All stocks on the Nifty FMCG index ended with gains.