The consumer foods giant recently acquired the global perpetual licence for Starbucks’ consumer packaged goods and foodservice products.
The company saw organic growth of 2.8%, with total reported sales increasing by 2% to CHF66.4bn (£50.9bn)
Net acquisitions increased sales by 0.1%, as the acquisition of Atrium Innovations, the Starbucks licence for consumer packaged goods and other transactions were offset by divestments – mainly the US confectionery business – it said. All categories had positive growth led by coffee, Purina petcare, infant nutrition and Nestlé Health Science.
‘Value creation’
“We are encouraged by the progress on our path of accelerated value creation,” said Mark Schneider, Nestlé chief executive officer. “The nine-month sales show solid growth across most geographies and product categories.
“We are starting to see improved momentum in North America and in our infant nutrition category globally. Our business in China continued to grow at a mid single-digit pace. Our growth was supported by disciplined execution and faster innovation. We have reached significant milestones in portfolio management and are particularly pleased with the early closing of the Starbucks transaction.”
The results were released on the same day that Hilton Food Group (HFG), the specialist international food packing business, agreed to buy a 50% share in Netherlands-based Dalco Food, the vegetarian product manufacture.
The deal, which is subject to clearance from the Dutch competition authority, will see the group enter a joint venture (JV) agreement with the vegetarian product manufacturer based in Oss, the Netherlands.
HFG has agreed to enter into the JV with Dalco’s shareholders, which includes an option for the remaining 50% of Dalco’s shares in 2024.
Unilever results
Meanwhile, Unilever announced its results for the third quarter of 2018, which showed a rise in underlying sales growth of 3.8%.
In its Foods & Refreshment division it saw underlying sales growth of 3.2% in the quarter.
Ice cream delivered a strong performance, led by innovations such as the new Kinder ice cream and Magnum Praline variants, it said.
It added that growth in foods had been driven by cooking products and its foodservice business, which caters to professional chefs.
Unilever CEO Paul Polman said: “We were able to increase prices while still maintaining good volume growth, which reflects the strength of our brands and the quality of our innovation programme. Our focus on building our business for the long-term continues to deliver high-quality growth.”