MAM
Bharat Patel re-elected chairman of ISA
MUMBAI: Bharat V Patel, chairman, Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care Limited, has been unanimously re-elected chairman of the Indian Society of Advertisers, for the third consecutive year.
Patel’s re-election took place on 23 September at the ISA’s executive council meeting, which was held after the AGM. He has been an active member of the Executive Council since 1991and held the position of the chairman of the managing committee since 1994, before being elected chairman in 2002.
Among the others elected were Kurush Grant, divisional chief executive – India Tobacco Division, ITC Limited, Bijou Kurien, COO – watches, Titan Industries and Virat Mehta, vice-president, Nestle India as vice-chairmen of East, South and North, respectively. Romit Chaterji vice-president – corporate affairs, Tata Services was elected treasurer and Dalip Sehgal, executive director, Hindustan Lever, was elected chairman of the media committee.
In his AGM address, Patel highlighted two major concerns that advertisers are facing in India, as well as worldwide. Firstly, the rapidly declining cost effectiveness of TV advertising due to a simultaneous proliferation of programmes /channels leading to declining viewership, combined with the increase in rates, was a major issue engaging the advertising community across the globe. He talked about the various experiments being undertaken worldwide by some big advertisers to use alternative audio-visual vehicles like the Internet and encouraged Indian Advertisers to look at such options critically.
The second big concern was to do with the questions being raised about whether the current yardsticks which measure media audiences were actually measuring what they should be measuring – that of ‘engaging’ the consumer and inducing ‘action’. He pointed out that the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), of which the ISA is a member, has recently launched an initiative by issuing a blue print for consumer-centric holistic measurement of media audiences. He expected to see some major changes in measurement logic and systems to get established in the foreseeable future.
Other members of the newly elected EC are: Hamid Ahmed (Hamdard), Amitabh (LIC), JC Chopra (consultant and member emeritus), Debanjan Datta (Crompton Greaves), Paulomi Dhawan (Raymond), Rajiv Dube (Tata Motors), Vinay Hegde (Colgate-Palmolive), Naveen Kshatriya (Castrol), Jagmohan Malhotra (Enterprise For New Directions), BO Mehta (Pidilite), Rajiv Pal (Birla VXL) R. Ramakrishnan (Bajaj Electricals), K.S Ramesh (CavinKare), Dalip Sehgal (Hindustan Lever) and Brahm Vasudeva (Hawkins).
The ISA is the only body which represents the interests of Advertisers in the country and its membership accounts for around 2/3rds of national advertising expenditures.
During the past year the ISA has been instrumental in convincing the government to allow the setting off of service taxes on advertising, sales promotions and market research expenditures against CENVAT, thereby eliminating the cascading and double taxation effect on such expenditures.
It was also a proactive participant in a joint representation by Advertisers, Advertising Agencies and media representatives to the information & broadcasting ministry in having the ASCI code being accepted as the determining code with respect to violation of the Cable TV Act, in preference to a separate code being set up by the government for this purpose. The ISA is one of the founder-promoters of the ASCI.
During the course of the last year, the media committee of the ISA, through discussions with All India Radio, was able to get them to defer a proposal to drastically increase their tariffs.
Brands
Nestlé India posts 14.9 per cent sales growth, profit rises in FY26
FMCG major sweetens returns with dividend as strong domestic demand leads
NEW DELHI: Nestlé India has reported a strong financial performance for the year ended 31 March 2026, with sales and profits rising steadily on the back of robust domestic demand.
The company posted total income of Rs 231,949.5 million for FY26, up from Rs 202,645.5 million in the previous year, marking a growth of 14.9 per cent. Domestic sales remained the key driver, increasing 14.6 per cent to Rs 221,187.0 million, while exports contributed Rs 9,527.6 million to the overall tally.
The final quarter of the financial year added extra momentum, with total sales rising 23.4 per cent compared to the same period last year. This helped lift the company’s annual profit to Rs 35,446.0 million, up from Rs 33,145.0 million in FY25.
Shareholders are set to benefit as the board has recommended a final dividend of Rs 5.00 per equity share. This comes on top of the interim dividend of Rs 7.00 per share paid in February 2026. The record date for the final dividend has been fixed as 10 July 2026, subject to shareholder approval at the 67th Annual General Meeting scheduled for 3 July 2026. If approved, the payout will begin from 30 July 2026.
During the year, the company’s paid-up equity share capital doubled to Rs 1,928.3 million following a 1:1 bonus share issue, strengthening its capital base. The results were also supported by a Rs 1,207.8 million credit from exceptional items, including a Rs 2,023.2 million writeback from resolved income tax litigation, partially offset by restructuring costs and expenses related to new labour codes.
On the cost front, material costs rose to 44.8 per cent of sales for the full year, compared to 43.6 per cent in the previous year, reflecting ongoing input cost pressures. Despite this, the company maintained solid profitability, with EBITDA coming in at Rs 53,060.6 million.
Overall, Nestlé India’s performance underscores its ability to balance growth and margins in a challenging environment. With steady demand, disciplined cost management and consistent shareholder returns, the company appears well placed to carry its momentum into the next financial year.
