MAM
Grey’s creative team sees changes
MUMBAI: Grey India has brought in a series of changes in its creative leadership team.
Vishnu Srivatsav will move to Mumbai and serve as executive creative director and creative head of Batey India, which is Grey’s second agency in India. The agency has also appointed Ram Jayaraman as group creative director and creative head, south.
Jayaraman moves in from JWT, Mumbai where he was AVP and senior creative director (copy). He will lead the creative responsibilities for Grey South (Bangalore and Chennai) together with Sham Ramachandran who is executive creative director and creative head, south.
Ram has over 11 years work experience in advertising. In his previous role, he was the creative head for the India business on Radiant (RIN), Smirnoff, Amit Enterprises and Ahuja Constructions. He led Radiant to 5/5 in the agency review, a never-before achievement in the Unilever portfolio. Ram has also worked on some very popular brands and campaigns for Times Of India, Set MAX, Godrej, Kingfisher, Pepsi Co, Nestle, GSK (Horlicks & Boost), ESPN Star Sports, Ford, Pizza Hut, KFC, Hero Honda, Ford, Reebok, Unitech.He’s a Cannes 2005 finalist and Ranked 667 in Campaign Brief Asia’s “Top 1011 Creatives in Asia. His work has been published in Lurzer’s Archive 2008. He’s won a bronze at Goafest ’09 for craft in copy for a long copy ad written for TOI (on 26/11 attacks). Apart from advertising, he is passionate about books, poetry writing, Sachin Tendulkar, Royal Enfield, long-distance running, beer and heavy metal. He is a post graduate in Advertising & Public Relations, IMC.
Before his appointment, Ramachandran and Srivatsav together had spearheaded the creative duties for Southern region. Grey India has done work from its South market for clients like Britannia, Bharti AXA, UB Wines, ITC etc. Vishnu, after building the creative force in South, has now moved to Bombay as executive creative director and creative head, Batey (a Grey group company).His responsibility is to build a formidable creative structure for Batey in Mumbai.
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.
