Nestlé nine-month sales down 9%, e-commerce growth slowing

Nestlé reported sales for January through September of 61.9 billion Swiss francs ($68 billion), a drop of 9.4% compared to 68.4 billion francs for the same period last year.

“Divestitures decreased sales by 5.5%, largely related to the divestment of Nestlé Skin Health and the U.S. ice cream business. Foreign exchange reduced sales by 7.4%, reflecting the continued appreciation of the Swiss franc versus most currencies,” Nestlé said on Oct 21.

E-commerce sales rose by 47.6% year-on-year to make up 12.3% of total Group sales. This is a drop from the 49% growth for the first six months of the year, when e-commerce contributed 12.4% to the Group’s overall sales.

E-commerce made up 8.5% of the Switzerland-headquartered company's total sales in 2019.

Demand for at-home consumption “remained strong” said the company. However, confectionery and water posted drops in sales due to their exposure to out-of-home channels and on-the-go consumption. Nestlé’s out-of-home channels remain “significantly negative” said the company.

Here are sales highlights from Nestlé’s nine-month earnings announcement:

Nestlé is behind global brands such as KitKat, Nescafe, Nespresso, Perrier, Nesquik Cereal, Quality Street, Milo, Nestea, Maggi, and Purina PetCare.

Nestlé has a substantial halal footprint. The company itself has not given a definitive number to the sales value of its halal products but it says that more than 160 of its factories in more than 40 countries produce halal products.

Malaysia is the company’s Halal Centre of Excellence and all products out of Nestlé Malaysia are halal and halal-certified, including what it exports to 51 countries. As an indication of size, Nestlé Malaysia’s revenue in 2019 was 5.518 billion ringgit ($1.3 billion).

© SalaamGateway.com 2020 All Rights Reserved