LONDON (Reuters) -Nestle posted better-than-expected first-half organic sales growth on Thursday as the world's biggest packaged food company announced a strategic review of its vitamins business that could lead to the divestment of some brands.
The Swiss company maintained its 2025 outlook, saying it still expects organic sales growth to improve compared to 2024 and estimates an underlying trading operating profit margin at, or above, 16%.
Organic sales growth, which excludes the impact of currency
movements and acquisitions, rose 2.9% in the first half ending June 30, Nestle said. Analysts had forecast average organic sales growth of 2.8%.
Total reported sales decreased by 1.8% to 44.2 billion Swiss francs ($55.79 billion), compared to analyst expectations of 44.6 billion francs. Nestle said this included the negative impact of 4.7% from foreign exchange, given the Swiss franc's significant strengthening.
CEO Laurent Freixe said in a statement that Nestle was taking steps to address underperforming business cells and was also focusing on winning premium brands in the Vitamins, Minerals and Supplements business.
"We have launched a strategic review of our underperforming mainstream and value brands, including Nature's Bounty, Osteo Bi-Flex, Puritan's Pride, and US private label, which may result in the divestment of these brands," Nestle said.
($1 = 0.7923 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Alexander Marrow)
