Nestle lowers sales outlook on weak consumer demand

The Swiss group suffered a 2,4 percent drop

Nestle lowered its outlook again for 2024 and reshuffled its executive team on Thursday as the global food giant reported falling sales for the first nine months of the year.

The Swiss group, whose brands include Nespresso coffee capsules, Purina dog food, and Haagen-Dazs ice cream, reported sales of 67.1 billion Swiss francs ($77.4 billion), a 2.4 percent drop from the same period last year.

"Consumer demand has weakened in recent months, and we expect the demand environment to remain soft," Nestle's new chief executive, Laurent Freixe, said in a statement.

Cuts influenced by poor sales

Last month, Nestle appointed Freixe, who headed its Latin America unit, to replace Mark Schneider following slowing sales and a series of product scandals.

Freixe said Nestle now expects organic sales growth of two percent this year, excluding currency fluctuations and acquisitions.

The group had already cut its annual sales growth expectations from four percent to three percent in July.

Organic sales growth for the first nine months of the year reached two percent, compared to 7.8 percent over the same period in 2023.

Various changes coming to Nestle

Nestle announced several changes in its leadership structure, including merging its Latin America and North America divisions into a single Americas unit.

Its Greater China region will become part of its Asia, Oceania, and Africa zone, among other changes, including a reshuffling of the executive board.

"With these organizational changes, all the leaders of key units driving our performance and our transformation will now report directly to me," Freixe said.

"This is crucial as we sharpen our focus on consumers and customers and restore investment in our brands and in innovation to expand market share and accelerate our performance," he added.

Based on AFP reports