Nestlé: results are in line with expectations

Nestlé, the world's largest food maker, reported an increase in real internal growth for the first nine months of the year but expects its trading operating profit margin to drop 40-60 basis points due to higher restructuring costs. The Swiss company said net divestments had a negative impact of 2.6% due to the creation of the Froneri joint venture.

The Swiss consumer giant said Thursday it struggled in its largest market, the U.S., where it is trying to sell its confectionery business. Elsewhere, its ability to raise prices was limited by weaker currencies in some emerging markets.

Total sales were 65.3 billion Swiss francs ($66.5 billion) in the nine months through September, down 0.4% from the year-ago period.

The results are the latest in a string of disappointing figures from Nestlé, which missed a longstanding target of 5% to 6% organic growth for four-straight years through 2016 before ditching the goal earlier this year.

Nestlé signaled a new way of thinking about its business when it brought in health-care executive Mark Schneider as chief executive in January. He was the first CEO chosen from outside Nestlé's ranks in nearly a century. Four months after dropping the sales target, Nestlé put its U.S. confectionery business — which sells Butterfinger and Crunch bars — up for sale and said Thursday that process should be completed by the end of the year.