Business News
The world’s largest food producer Nestlé was able to accelerate its growth again in 2025 on its own. CEO Philipp Navratil wants to step up the pace even more with a new strategy.
02/19/2026, 07:2102/19/2026, 07:42
Excluding exchange rate effects and purchases and sales, organic growth was 3.5 percent after 2.2 percent in the previous year, as the manufacturer of Nespresso coffee, Kitkat chocolate bars and Purina pet food announced on Thursday. This was mainly due to price adjustments of 2.8 percent. Volume growth (RIG) remained stable at 0.8 percent in an environment of subdued consumer appetite.
Nestlé had a turbulent year in 2025.Image: keystone
In the fourth quarter, organic growth was 4.0 percent after 4.3 percent in the third quarter. The large-scale recall of baby food in around 60 countries due to a toxic ingredient largely only took place at the beginning of 2026 and therefore had no effect on the 2025 figures.
Sales fell by 2.0 percent to 89.49 billion francs for the year as a whole. The main reason for this was the weakness of the dollar and the strong franc.
16.1 percent of sales remained as operating profit, after 17.2 percent in the previous year. Investments for growth, US tariffs, exchange rate effects and higher raw material costs for coffee and cocoa, among other things, put pressure on the margin. Net profit fell slightly to 9.03 billion francs.
Despite a high mountain of debt, the group is sticking to its dividend policy: the payout is increasing for the 30th time in a row, to 3.10 francs per share after 3.05 francs the year before.
In order to achieve stronger growth in the future, CEO Navratil, who has been in office for a good five months, is sharpening the group strategy. As expected, Nestlé is focusing more on the four divisions of coffee, pet products and nutrition, which together account for around 70 percent of sales, as well as on culinary products and snacks.
Nutrition and Nestlé Health Science will be merged into a joint business to strengthen market position and exploit synergies. In the culinary and snacks sector, the group wants to further streamline the portfolio and reduce brands. This also includes advanced negotiations regarding the sale of the remaining ice cream business to Froneri.
As expected, management remains cautious regarding the outlook due to the difficult environment. Nestlé expects organic growth of around 3 to 4 percent, with real internal growth expected to increase compared to 2025; Around 20 basis points from product returns and stock shortages after the major recall of baby food are having a negative impact. The underlying operating margin is expected to improve compared to 2025 and increase in the second half of the year, while free cash flow is expected to exceed nine billion francs. (awp/sda)