Nestlé: organic sales growth in 2017 below expectations

According to the company, net divestments had a negative impact of 1.9% (mainly due to the creation of the Froneri joint venture). Underlying trading operating profit margin ahead of expectations, up 50 basis points in constant currency and up 40 basis points on a reported basis to 16.4%.

Mark Schneider, Nestlé CEO, said: "Our 2017 organic sales growth was within the guided range but below our expectations, in particular due to weak sales development towards the end of the year. Sales growth in Europe and Asia was encouraging while North America and Brazil continued to see a challenging environment. Organic sales growth is expected to improve in 2018 and we are firmly on track for our 2020 margin improvement target."

Nestlé achieved full-year sales of CHF 8.81 bn (2016: CHF 8.68 bn) in the product category confectionery. Organic growth was 0.3%.