KUALA LUMPUR (April 20): Nestle Bhd’s net profit grew 2.4% to RM187.9 million in the first quarter ended Mar 31, 2015, from RM183.5 million in the previous corresponding quarter.

Quarterly revenue was nearly flat at RM1.28 billion, up 0.4% from RM1.27 billion previously.

In a statement to Bursa Malaysia, Nestle (fundamental: 1.35; valuation: 1.5) said although consumer sentiment remained subdued, the group has performed solidly in its domestic business.  

This was primarily driven by the successful “Lebih Nilai, Lagi Hebat” consumer promotional campaign which was launched at the end of February this year, nationwide, the group said.

Nestle admitted lower export sales to affiliated companies had an “impact” on its overall turnover development. However, against the fourth quarter of last year, the impact was much smaller, indicating a sign of stabilisation.

On current year prospects, Nestle expects 2015 to be a very challenging year, due to the implementation of the goods & services tax.

“Given the circumstances, we remain cautiously optimistic and will continue to leverage on the stable growth of the Malaysian economy, with the pool of strong Nestle brands,” it said.

Nestle's share price fell two sen to RM74.48 today, giving it a market capitalisation of RM17.47 billion.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)