Nestle CEO Paul Bulcke said this morning that the Swiss food giant had enjoyed a “very successful” first half of the year with sales climbing by more than 6% and profits up 7.5%.
The world’s largest food maker booked a 7.5% increase in net profit to CHF5.5bn, with EBIT up 10.6% at CHF6.7bn. Nestle’s EBIT margin climbed by 80 basis points to 15.1% despite higher marketing investment thanks to cost control.
Sales grew by 6.1% on an organic basis to CHF55.3bn. On a reported basis, sales were up 5.9%.
Looking ahead, Bulcke said: “We have increased investment in our brands, people and capabilities and have prepared the company for a more challenging second half, which allows me to reconfirm our earlier full-year guidance for [Nestle’s] food and beverages [business]: organic growth of around 5% combined with an increase in EBIT margin in constant currencies.”
For the full earnings statement from Nestle, click here. Click here for coverage of Nestle’s first-half results conference.