Nestlé Romania, double-digit growth in the first nine months of 2017 | Progresiv

Nestlé Romania announces a financial increase of 11% for the first nine months of the year. The largest percentage of the company's turnover is supported by coffee, baby food, breakfast cereals and culinary products, according to information provided by the company.

"We are very pleased to announce that this year Nestlé Romania has continued to grow steadily, reaching a two-digit threshold. We believe in the power of our products and we aim to maintain the growth trend both by the end of the year and for the year 2018, with our values and nutrition as the main factors guiding us in all our activities", said Leszek Wacirz, CEO of Nestlé Romania.

Among the main achievements of Nestlé Romania in 2017, the Nescafé Dolce Gusto coffee capsule segment has grown significantly and is the most dynamic with an increase of over 20% in volume and value over last year. At the same time, Nestlé also invested in expanding its portfolio, launching and re-launching in Romania over 20 products including Joe Noir, Nestlé Cheerios Oats Cranberry and Nescafé 3in1 Piccolino.

Globally, Nestlé reported total sales of 56.5 billion euros, slightly lower over the same period last year (-0.4%), due to the negative effect of foreign exchange, but also a net division of 2.6% (mainly due to the creation of the Froneri joint venture). Organically, Nestlé's sales grew 2.6% (0.8% in developed markets and 5.1% in emerging markets).

"Our sales results for the first nine months are in line with the expectations announced in July. The increase in organic sales continued to benefit from the increase in industry volume, which illustrates our ability to innovate and meet consumer demand. Prices have remained constant. For Nestlé, improving efficiency is a priority. We have identified additional opportunities to accelerate the improvement of our margins, resulting in a further increase in restructuring and related expenses in 2017. Therefore, we now expect the operating profit margin to decrease by 40-60 basis points," explains Mark Schneider, Nestlé CEO.

Nestlé is one of the most important food producers and has been present on the local market since 1995. The producer has more than 1,000 employees in Bucharest and the Timisoara factory. Last year Nestlé reported a business of 770 million lei, the best result for the company in the last 9 years, posting a 13% growth.