NSRGY 雀巢 瑞士

Nestle misses nine-month sales estimates, expects volume upturn by year-end

LONDON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Nestle (NESN.S) posted lower-than-expected nine-month sales growth on Thursday as higher product prices made shoppers balk, sending shares down about 2% in morning trade, but said it expects volumes to turn positive again by the end of the year.

The packaged goods industry has for over two years hit shoppers with higher prices, citing higher input costs that started with the COVID-19 pandemic and were exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Everything from sunflower oil to freight has become more expensive, taking a toll on global supply chains.

雀巢未達到預期的九個月銷售額，預計到年底將出現體積增長

倫敦，2023年10月19日（路透社）- 雀巢（NESN.S）在周四公佈的九個月銷售增長低於預期，因產品價格上漲使購物者猶豫不前，導致股價在早盤交易中下跌約2％，但表示預計到年底體積將再次轉為正增長。

包裝食品行業在過去兩年多一直以來將高昂的價格轉嫁給購物者，理由是高昂的投入成本始於COVID-19大流行，並因俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭而變得更為嚴重。從葵花籽油到運費，一切都變得更加昂貴，對全球供應鏈造成了沉重打擊。

Nestle's 8.4% price increase was below the average analyst estimate of 8.6%. Real internal growth (RIG) - or a measure of sales volumes - fell 0.6%, meeting expectations. In the third quarter, RIG improved to a decline of 0.3%, Nestle said.

The company's CEO, Mark Schneider, said he had "confidence that real internal growth, the sum of volume and mix, will turn positive in the second half of the year and again become the main driver of growth going forward."

"Pricing will be more targeted, by brand and by country," Schneider said.

P&G (PG.N), which makes Tide detergent and Gillette razors, on Wednesday reported weak sales volumes, but said this was stabilising and would start to pick up through the rest of the year.

"The (Nestle) results were slightly underwhelming. The market was expecting more on volumes," Aviva portfolio manager Richard Saldanha said. "The ultimate catalyst for the stock's multiple to improve is going to be seeing that volume number going positive."

雀巢的8.4％價格上漲低於平均分析師估計的8.6％。實際內部增長（RIG） - 或銷售量的度量 - 下降了0.6％，符合預期。雀巢表示，在第三季度，RIG改善至下降0.3％。

該公司的首席執行官馬克·施耐德（Mark Schneider）表示，他對實際內部增長，即體積和組合的總和，將在下半年轉為正增長，再次成為未來增長的主要驅動力感到信心。

施耐德說：“價格將更有針對性，按品牌和國家區分。”

製造潮濕劑Tide和吉列刮鬍刀的宝洁公司（P&G）周三報告了銷售量不佳，但表示這一情況正在穩定，將在今年余下的時間開始增加。

"（雀巢）的結果稍顯不足。市場對銷售量有更高期望，" Aviva 投資組合經理理查德·薩爾丹哈（Richard Saldanha）表示。"提升股票多重估值的最終催化劑將是看到銷售量數字轉為正增長。"

"Pricing has moderated so we should see some sign of volume improvement soon...there are clearly some categories that remain quite challenged like water and health sciences."

Investors and analysts have raised concerns that companies are pushing price rises too far and recommended that they focus more on marketing and innovation, amid a cost of living crisis that is seeing retailers' private label brands stealing market share.

Organic sales, which exclude the impact of currency movement and acquisitions, rose 7.8% in the nine months ended September, the maker of Maggi stock cubes and Nescafe coffee said.

Analysts had on average expected organic sales growth of 8.1%.

Executives have in recent quarters flagged that costs are rising at a slower pace, but also warned that shoppers would continue to pay more for products like soap, toilet paper and coffee because companies still have not recouped years of damage from higher expenses.

Nestle confirmed its full-year outlook of organic sales growth between 7% and 8% and underlying trading operating profit margin between 17.0% and 17.5%.

A Nestle spokesperson said the firm had "not seen any impact from (weight loss drugs) on our sales", referring to the potential threat posed to the packaged food industry by Novo Nordisk's (NOVOb.CO) blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy.

The drug's popularity has prompted concerns in the consumer and retail industry over whether food sales will be impacted. Nestle shares fell this month after Walmart (WMT.N), the world's biggest retailer, said that it saw a slight pullback in food consumption with people taking appetite-suppressing drugs like Wegovy.

($1 = 0.8989 Swiss francs)

Reporting by Richa Naidu; editing by Christopher Cushing and Jason Neely

"價格已經趨於穩定，所以我們應該很快會看到一些銷售量改善的跡象...顯然有一些品類仍然面臨著挑戰，如水和健康科學。"

投資者和分析師提出擔憂，公司正在推動價格上漲得太過頭，建議它們應更注重市場營銷和創新，這是在一個生活成本危機中，零售商的自有品牌正在竊取市場份額。

製造Maggi湯塊和Nescafe咖啡的公司表示，除了匯率變動和併購的影響外，有機銷售在截至9月的九個月內增長了7.8%。

分析師平均預期有機銷售增長為8.1%。

高層近幾季已經提出成本以較慢的速度上升，但也警告說，購物者將繼續為肥皂、衛生紙和咖啡等產品支付更多費用，因為公司仍未彌補多年來因高昂開支而造成的損害。

雀巢確認其全年預期有機銷售增長在7%和8%之間，基礎交易運營利潤率在17.0%和17.5%之間。

雀巢發言人表示，該公司尚未看到來自「減重藥物」對銷售的任何影響，這是指諾和諾迪斯克（Novo Nordisk）的減重藥物Wegovy對包裝食品行業構成的潛在威脅。

該藥物的受歡迎程度引起了消費者和零售行業的擔憂，擔心食品銷售將受到影響。雀巢股價在沃爾瑪（Walmart）這個全球最大的零售商表示，人們開始服用像Wegovy這樣的食慾壓抑藥物後，本月下跌。