Nestle’s share price increased this morning (9 August) as the Kit-Kat maker booked an increase in first-half profit and reaffirmed its full-year guidance.
The Swiss food giant reported an 8.9% increase in earnings of CHF5.12bn (US$5.26bn) in the six months to the end of June, helped by strong demand from emerging markets, price rises and cost-cutting.
Operating profit reached CHF6.6bn, up 6.3% on the prior-year period, while net sales climbed 7.5% to CHF44.1bn.
The company uses a sales measure called “real internal growth”, which excludes M&A, price increases and currency movements. By that metric, organic growth was 6.6%.
The Kit-Kat maker said it still expected underlying sales to grow by 5% to 6% this year despite a continued “tough” trading environment, particularly in developed markets.
Shares increased 2.10% to CHF60.90 at 08:43 CET.
Click here to read analysts’ thoughts on Nestle’s results and here for more insight from the company into the results.
