Nestle first quarter sales sweeter than expected
Nestle, the world’s biggest packaged food maker, said an increase in prices and volume boosted its first quarter sales.
The group said sales rose 0.5% to $20.9bn (£14.6bn), adding that currency headwinds reduced reported sales by approximately 4.5%.
On an organic basis, sales rose 4.4% year-on-year, slightly better than the 4.3% forecast by analysts.
In a trading update in February, the producer of KitKat bars and Perrier water said it expected sales to grow approximately 5%, a target it reiterated on Friday, underlying earnings per share in constant currencies and capital efficiency.
Sluggish growth in North America and in Europe, coupled with a sharp slowdown in emerging markets, hit packaged foods producers throughout 2014, with Nestle reporting a 2.5% growth in developed markets and a 6.7% growth in emerging markets.