Nestlé: 3.6% organic growth based on increased real internal growth momentum

In the first nine months of 2009 the Nestlé Group achieved organic growth of 3.6%. Real internal growth reached 1.0% having accelerated throughout the year and across most segments of the business. Divestitures, net of acquisitions, had a negative impact of - 0.6% on Group sales, as did the currency effect of - 5.2% due to the strength of the Swiss franc compared to most other currencies.

These two factors contributed to a reduction in Nestlé Group sales of - 2.2%, to CHF 79.5 billion. Organic growth for Nestlé`s food and beverage business was 3.5%. Real internal growth accelerated in the third quarter to reach 0.7% for the nine months from 0.1% at the half year. This improvement was evident in each region, resulting in organic growth of 4.4% in the Americas, 0.9% in Europe and 6.5% in Asia, Oceania and Africa for Nestlé`s total food and beverage businesses.

Nestlé achieved confectionery sales of CHF 8.2 billion, resulting in organic growth of 4.0% and in real internal growth of -1.6%. There was some softness in the growth of biscuits and sugar confectionery, but the chocolate business continued to make good progress. According to the company Kit Kat continued to perform well overall. Demand was weak in Russia, while many emerging markets delivered strong growth with products such as Nestlé Classic tablets in Turkey, Munch in India and Sahne Nuss in Chile. Core brands gained momentum in the US.

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