Swiss food giant Nestlé has announced a first-quarter sales rise of
14.1 per cent to CHF22.8bn (€14.5bn), beating analyst expectations
and reconfirming its full-year target of a five to six per cent
growth rate.
Prices for raw materials and energy are forecast to rise by around
five to 10 per cent this year, but Nestlé believes cost cuts will
balance the equation out, the company's chief executive said
yesterday.
Nestlé says it will embrace moves by hard discounters to sell more
branded products as part of its plan to recover from difficult
times on Europe's food and drink market.
Food giant Nestlé is being squeezed by tough international
confectionery markets, its modest overall half-year sales dragged
down by disappointing performances from its chocolate,
confectionery and biscuit categories.
Nestlé has launched new sweets and biscuits in Russia as intense
competition has forced the firm to invest heavily in what is now
the world's fourth biggest confectionery market, reports Angela
Drujinina.
Nestle, the world's biggest foodmaker, has apologised to Chinese
consumers after the country's safety authorities detected too much
iodine in one of its milk-power brands.
