Vevey, Switzerland,Apr 14, 2016—Paul Bulcke, Nestlé CEO: “As anticipated, the first quarter continued the positive momentum in real internal growth, with softer pricing. We gained market share in the majority of our categories and businesses. The strongest performances were in Europe, in South East Asia and in Africa as well as for Nescafé, Nespresso and petcare. Our US frozen food business is progressing well. The trends seen over the last few quarters show the relevance of our investments and allow us to confirm our outlook for the year.”
Business Review
- Sales of CHF 20.9 billion, with a foreign exchange impact of -2.8%. The net result of acquisitions and divestitures reduced sales growth by 1.0%.
- Organic growth was 3.9%, composed of 3.0% real internal growth and 0.9% pricing. It was broad-based across geographies and categories.
5.5% in the Americas (AMS)
3.0% in Europe, Middle East and North Africa (EMENA)
2.3% in Asia, Oceania and sub-Saharan Africa (AOA)
- Real internal growth continued its positive momentum.
3.5% in AMS
3.0% in EMENA
2.4% in AOA
- There was continued strength in developed markets with organic growth of 2.5% (real internal growth of 2.9%) and in emerging markets with 5.6% (real internal growth of 3.2%).
- Pricing, as anticipated, was low as a result of deflation in the developed markets and soft commodity prices.
Zone AMS
Sales of CHF 5.8 billion, 5.0% organic growth, 2.7% real internal growth
- The year started with an acceleration of real internal growth in North America, resilience in volatile Latin America and market share gains across the Zone.
- The frozen food business delivered solid growth in North America. Innovation and a successful new communication campaign drove sales for Lean Cuisine and Stouffer’s. There were solid performances for ice cream and Coffee-mate. Petcare made a positive contribution with Purina One and Pro Plan.
- Latin America was a mixed picture. There was broad-based double-digit growth in Mexico and strong contributions from Chile, Colombia and from the Plata region. Both Nescafé Dolce Gustoand petcare continued their strong growth momentum. Brazil was resilient in the face of the worsening macro-economic situation.
Nestlé Waters
Sales of CHF 1.8 billion, 5.3% organic growth, 5.8% real internal growth
- Nestlé Waters delivered solid growth in all geographies, double-digit in emerging markets.
- There was accelerating double-digit growth for the premium international brands Perrier andS.Pellegrino. Nestlé Pure Life grew double-digit in emerging markets. Local brands also contributed, notably Ozarka in the United States, Buxton in the United Kingdom, Sta.María in Mexico and La Vie in Vietnam.
Other businesses
- Nestlé Professional grew in both emerging and developed markets although Europe was challenging. There was a good start to the year in North America and in most of Latin America. The strategic growth drivers beverages and culinary flavour solutions continued to perform well.
- Nespresso maintained solid positive growth in all regions and continued to build on its strong position in Europe. The success of the VertuoLine system in North America, continuing innovation and a new campaign there to help build brand awareness are supporting the growth. The company continued its geographic expansion, opening more new boutiques, and launching new limited editions of its Grand Crus coffees. Full report.
