Nestlé's growth has "regained momentum", with Europe outperforming the market, according to ceo Paul Bulcke, commenting on nine month sales figures.
Nescafé Dolce Gusto gained market share from January to September this year, Nestlé claimed
Organic sales growth was highest in Asia, Oceania and Africa, but the company reported: "In the face of weak consumer demand and deflationary pressures, Zone Europe again outpaced the market, achieving strong volume growth."
Great Britain, Germany, Austria and Switzerland were the top performers in the region, although Russia continued to deliver strong growth, driven by ice cream, coffee and confectionery.
In brand terms, overall Nescafé Dolce Gusto gained market share with double digit growth. Nesquik, Kit Kat and Nescafé Gold were also singled out for praise.
Market share gains
Nestlé Waters achieved market share gains in Europe, driven by promotional campaigns and the strong performance of San Pellegrino and Perrier.
Excluding pet food, powdered and liquid beverages, including ready-to-drink teas and juices, were the products achieving the most internal real growth for the company over the period (+5%). That was followed by nutrition and healthcare (+3.9%) and confectionery (+3.5%).
Prepared dishes and cooking aids, with no rise or decline in sales, performed the worst.
'Continued to be challenged'
In Nestlé's Nutrition division, its weight management products "continued to be challenged", it said, while infant nutrition products "delivered solid growth with sustained momentum in formulas and cereals".
Bulcke commented: "Our real internal growth has regained momentum and is broad-based across categories, price points and geographies."
The company achieved real internal growth of 2.1% in Europe, from CHF 11.2bn (£7.7bn) to CHF 11.4bn (£7.8bn) and 5.8% in Asia, Oceania and Africa between January and September 2013.
Overall, Nestlé reported group sales up 4%, from CHF 65.8bn (£45.2bn) to CHF 68.4bn (£47bn) during the period.
'Improvement in margins'
Bulcke predicted "continued growth momentum to enable us to deliver around 5% organic growth for the full year together with an improvement in margins …"
Meanwhile, Nestlé reported yesterday (October 16) that it was helping to address micronutrient deficiencies in the developing world by mapping nutritional gaps. It then aims to meet this need with micronutrient-fortified products.
It is using publicly available data from local governments and international health authorities in this process.
The UN estimates that two billion people around the world suffer from micronutrient deficiencies. It calls this "hidden hunger".
