KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 12): Nestle (M) Bhd's net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2019 (3QFY19) rose 8.2% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM148.99 million from RM137.69 million, on the back of focus on driving sustainable efficiencies and savings.

In a filing today, Nestle said revenue for the quarter dipped 2.2% to RM1.4 billion from RM1.43 billion.

Earnings per share rose to 63.54 sen from 58.72 sen.

Nestle declared an interim dividend of 70 sen per share, amounting to RM164.15 million, payable on Dec 19.

For the nine months ended Sept 30, Nestle's net profit rose 1.1% to RM541.1 million, from RM535.06 million in the year-ago period, on the back of a marginal 0.4% increase in revenue to RM4.19 billion versus RM4.17 billion.

On its prospects, Nestle said building on its solid foundation, its results remain resilient and it expects to land another quarter of solid results in 4QFY19 and for the full year.

"Despite a challenging backdrop of global and local uncertainties (both consumer and commodities), our fundamentals remain strong and we continue to focus on commercial activities which are consumer-driven.

"We will continue to proactively enhance efficiencies and generate savings to invest behind our brands and protect our margins.

"In the current context this remains the most effective strategy to counter rising commodity costs and protect the accessibility to our brands by consumers," it said.

At the midday break, Nestle shares were 0.35% or 50 sen higher at RM145.40, valuing it at RM34.09 billion.