Nestle posts weakest sales growth in more than 10 years
However, it has forecast no near-term blanket price increases in Western Europe, charting a different course to rival Unilever, maker of Marmite
Vevey — Nestle became the latest company to be hit by the global slowdown affecting food manufacturers, after posting its weakest underlying sales growth in more than a decade. The Swiss maker of Kitkat chocolate and Nescafe coffee cut its sales target for the year, saying European markets would continue to be deflationary, while certain developing markets stayed weak. It forecast no near-term blanket price increases in Western Europe, charting a different course to rival Unilever, whose push to raise prices in Britain in response to a falling pound landed it in a public spat with retailer Tesco last week dubbed Marmitegate. "The pound is going south and that is going to have some effect on certain imports and you cannot defy gravity," Nestle CEO Paul Bulcke said on Thursday. "But I don’t say … our costs go up 1% — bang, we pass that straight on to the consumer — they would punish you." The company cut its forecast for the year, saying it now expected organic sales to rise 3.5% afte...
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