- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- Under-fire Ten Hag 'together' with Man Utd hierarchy
- Guardiola talks of Man City love affair as financial hearing rumbles on
- De Bruyne out of Belgium Nations League squad
- Japanese trainer Yahagi hopes Shin Emperor achieves 50-year-old Arc dream
- UK's Starmer hails 'landmark' carbon capture funding
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Bosnia floods kill 14 people
- Tennis world number one Swiatek splits with coach Wiktorowski
Nestle sales slump on weak North America demand for frozen food
Swiss food giant Nestle reported slimmer sales than expected in the first quarter on Thursday, weighed down by weak demand for frozen pizza and snacks in North America.
Shares in the group fell following the publication of its earnings, which come as Nestle has recently faced scrutiny over the quality of its Perrier water and sugar levels in baby food sold in poorer countries.
Total sales fell 5.9 percent to 22.1 billion francs ($24.2 billion) in the first three months of the year at the group, whose brands range from Purina pet food to Nespresso coffee, KitKat chocolate bars and Gerber baby products.
Analysts surveyed by Swiss news agency AWP had expected sales totalling 22.3 billion francs.
Its organic sales growth -- which excludes currency fluctuations and acquisitions -- reached 1.4 percent.
The group's real internal growth (RIG), which takes into account both sales volume and product value, slumped two percent -- deeper than the 0.7 percent fall expected by analysts.
The company said in a statement that sales performance was "impacted by soft consumer demand, particularly in North America, and the temporary supply constraints for vitamins, minerals and supplements."
Europe and emerging markets "more than offset" the decline in North America, it added.
"We had expected a slow start and see a strong rebound in RIG in the second quarter with reliable delivery for the remainder of the year," Nestle chief executive Mark Schneider said.
"A wide range of growth initiatives across the group are now starting to deliver," he said, noting that Nestle has "stepped up" commercial activity in North America, primarily in frozen food, which "lost ground" in the first quarter.
Nestle's RIG in North America was down 5.8 percent, said chief financial officer Anna Manz.
"Weakness in the US centered around frozen pizza and snacks, where we saw a combination of soft consumer demand, intense price competition and a reduction in retailer inventories in the quarter," Manz said.
- Water concerns -
Nestle confirmed its annual forecast, aiming for organic growth of around four percent.
Shares in the group fell 2.8 percent on the Swiss stock exchange in afternoon deals.
"We will reach a turning point in the second quarter," Schneider said in a conference call.
"We are taking the right steps to accelerate growth and expect a much stronger performance starting from the second quarter," he added.
Nestle's first-quarter performance stands in contrast to those of rivals such as French group Danone, which reported rising sales volume last week.
British consumer goods giant Unilever reported an uptick in first-quarter sales on Thursday.
Nestle has also scrambled to ease any concerns over its Perrier brand after France's food safety watchdog recommended stricter monitoring of sites where Nestle extracts mineral water following the discovery of traces of "faecal" contamination.
The company has since said it has stepped up monitoring of the sites, and Schneider reiterated on Thursday that the group's water was safe to drink.
He said Nestle was "working diligently with regulators in several countries where we operate" to "continue to assure absolute food safety and full conformity with local mineral water standards".
Last week, campaigners from Swiss organisation Public Eye said an investigation found that two of Nestle's best-selling baby-food brands marketed in developing countries contain high levels of added sugar.
"The negative news flow in recent weeks ... is raising concerns among investors," said Jean-Philippe Bertschy, analyst at investment firm Vontobel.
Patrik Schwendimann, analyst at Zurcher Kantonalbank, said "investor sentiment towards Nestle in recent months has never been so poor for more than 25 years."
He added that Nestle shares could rise sharply "if the news flow improves" but "Nestle must be able to show clear improvements in the coming quarters."
M.A.Vaz--PC