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Swiss food giant Nestlé reported its best quarterly sales growth in nearly five years, according to Reuters, cited by money.bg.
The reason, consumers have stocked up on all kinds of food, from pet food and Nescafé to frozen food, so they are prepared for the crash caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The company’s sales in North America and Europe are particularly strong in March, helping to achieve overall growth of 4.3% in the first three months of the year. And this is the giant’s fastest quarterly growth in nearly five years. Analyst expectations for the period increased 3%.
In North America, Purina Pet Care’s pet food sales increased at double-digit rates, while Nescafé and Coffee Mate registered a high single-digit increase. Consumers rushed to stock up on frozen goods and food, leading to higher sales of both DiGiorno and Hot Pockets.
In Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, most Nestlé product categories have also gained market share, the company said.
“Most markets, especially in North America and Europe, saw a significant increase in growth in March, partly supported by consumer stocks,” Nestlé said in a statement.
In Asia, giant food sales fell 4.6%. The reason is that the Chinese stayed away from restaurants for a longer period than the quarter. However, there is an increase in online sales.
Nestlé said it launched a 500 million Swiss francs ($ 512 million) program to help cafes and restaurants it supplies products to, by expanding payment terms and suspending rental rates for coffee machines. The company also agreed to keep orders from its dairy suppliers facing “significant disruptions in supply.”
“Despite continuing challenges in the supply chain and … changing consumer needs, the company has been able to generate strong growth,” said Vontobel analyst Jean-Philippe Berschy. He added that confirming the company’s goals in 2020 demonstrates Nestlé’s ability to navigate the crisis situation around the new coronavirus.
Taking into account the changes in the company’s product portfolio, total sales for the three months through the end of March fell 6.2% to CHF 20.8 billion ($ 21.3 billion), mainly due to the sale of its Skin Health business and its ice cream business in the United States last year.
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