Nestle Cuts Sales Growth Target as Profits Fall

Nestle has announced it will steepen its cost-cutting plan after unveiling disappointing results.

The KitKat maker’s net profit for 2016 fell to 8.5 billion Swiss francs from 9.1 billion a year earlier.

Analysts had expected 9.59 billion francs’ worth of profit.

Sluggish food inflation in most of its markets and easing demand in emerging markets saw sales growth slow to 3.2% from 4.2% in 2015.

Nestle has cut its sales growth target to between 2% and 4% for 2017, scrapping its prior “Nestle model” of 5-6% so-called organic growth, which excludes sales from companies it buys.

The company’s new CEO Mark Schneider, who took over the role in January, said: “Our 2016 organic growth was at the high end of the industry, but at the lower end of our expectations.”