VEVEY, SWITZERLAND — Impacted by the sale of the company’s stake in Alcon, income for Nestle S.A. was up 229% in 2010.
For the full-year 2010, the company had a net profit of 34.2 billion Swiss fancs ($35.9 billion), up from 10.4 billion Swiss francs in 2009. Sales for the year were up 2% to 109.7 billion Swiss francs ($115.1 billion).
“In 2010, we delivered another year of strong top- and bottom-line growth, outperforming the market,” said Paul Bulcke, chief executive officer. “We increased investment in our brands, our operations and our people. We continued to drive efficiency and effectiveness in both developed and emerging markets while at the same time accelerating innovation, serving well over a billion consumers a day across the world. We are starting 2011 with continued momentum, well placed to face uncertainties ahead, including volatile raw material prices. We are therefore confident of achieving the Nestlé Model in 2011 — organic growth between 5% and 6% and an EBIT margin improvement in constant currencies."
In Zone Americas, the company had sales of 34.3 billion Swiss francs ($35.99 billion). Chocolate products had a good year while frozen prepared meals such as Lean Cuisine were impacted by weak consumer demand for the category. Pizza also had a positive performance in the company’s first year of ownership of DiGiorno.