Nestlé reported 4% organic sales growth in the third quarter of 2026, above the 3.4% forecast cited by Reuters. The company maintained its full-year organic sales-growth outlook of 3% to 4%. Bloomberg attributed the quarterly growth to emerging-market demand for snacks and pet food.
Nestlé's real internal growth, a volume-related measure, reached 2.8%, compared with a 1.5% forecast. Its price-related increase was 1.1%, below the 1.9% forecast, Reuters reported. CEO Philipp Navratil welcomed the progress but said he was not satisfied with the business's performance. Vontobel analysts called the volume-driven growth "reassuring," while cautioning that "consistency remains the real test," according to Reuters.
Russian business leaves the accounts
Nestlé said it stopped consolidating its Russian business after Moscow seized it the previous month, Reuters reported. Chief Financial Officer Anna Manz said the unit, which contributed about 2% of group sales, was no longer consolidated from the end of September. She said the change did not affect organic sales, volumes or pricing, but would affect reported sales, underlying trading operating profit and free cash flow from the fourth quarter, according to Reuters.
Manz said removing the Russian business's net assets would negatively affect 2026 net debt by approximately 900 million Swiss francs. Nestlé also said it was removing 1.6 billion francs in Russian assets from its balance sheet and recording a separate, approximately 1.4 billion-franc noncash currency-translation charge, Reuters reported.
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