Nestle India shareholders reject proposal to hike royalty to Swiss parent

Mumbai, May 18 – Nestle India shareholders have rejected a proposal of the company’s board of directors to increase royalty payments to its Swiss parent Nestle S.A., according to a regulatory filing by the company.

Shareholders with a total 57.18 per cent stake in the company voted against the resolution.

The motion called for the royalty paid to its parent to climb to 5.25 per cent of net sales, over a period of five years from the current level of 4.5 per cent. The increase was proposed at a rate of 0.15 per cent per annum.

The proposal was moved as Nestle India in 2019 had said that it would seek approval of its shareholders every five years for royalty payments to the parent company after receiving investor and proxy firm’s feedback on the issue.

Nestle India reported a 27 per cent increase in standalone net profit at Rs 934 crore for the January-March quarter of 2023-24 compared to the corresponding figure of Rs 737 in the same quarter last year. The company’s revenue increased 9 per cent to Rs 5,268 crore year-on-year.