Interim Results
2003年8月20日 - 4:03PM
ＲＮＳを含む英国規制内ニュース （英語）
RNS Number:8599O
Nestle SA
20 August 2003
Nestle Group in First Half 2003:
Strong Organic Growth and Higher Margins
* Constant currency sales up 6.3 percent, driven by strong organic
growth of 5.5 percent
* Sales in Swiss francs amounting to CHF 41.4 billion, down 6.3 percent
due to adverse foreign exchange impact of 12.6 percent
* EBITA margin up 30 basis points to 12.2 percent (up 70 basis points to
12.6 percent in constant currencies) with improved performance in all
geographic zones and in Nestle Waters
* Operating cash flow up 11.7 percent, free cash flow up 24.6 percent in
Swiss francs
* Net profit of CHF 2'780 million and a net margin of 6.7 percent
* Underlying earnings up 4.9 percent in Swiss francs and 19.1 percent in
constant currencies
Peter Brabeck, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nestle S.A.: "Nestle
is demonstrating that it is able to grow and improve its performance even in a
very challenging environment and with a con-tinued strong Swiss franc. In 2003,
management is concentrating on operational efficiency and we are pleased to see
the results at half year. Margins and cash flow improvements, as well as the
strong organic growth, show that we are on the right track. We are also looking
forward to a somewhat more favorable trading environment for the second half of
the year. The Group is confident that the higher margins and cash flow are not
one-off events, but indicate a trend, and that an organic growth between 5 and 6
percent is sustainable for the full year."
Half-Year Figures at a Glance
Margins
January-June January-June January-June 2003 January-June 2002
2003 2002
Sales CHF 41'437 mio. CHF 44'219 mio.
EBITA CHF 5'045 mio. CHF 5'280 mio. 12.2% 11.9%
Net profit * CHF 2'780 mio. CHF 5'656 mio. 6.7% 12.8%
EPS * CHF 7.19 CHF 14.57
Operating Cash Flow CHF 3'080 mio. CHF 2'757 mio.
Organic Growth 5.5 %
* Not comparable as a result of one-off factors (including gains from Alcon and
FIS) in 1st half 2002
Vevey, August 20, 2003 - During the first half of 2003, the Nestle Group's
consolidated sales amounted to CHF 41'437 million, resulting in a net profit of
CHF 2'780 million and a net margin of 6.7 percent. The EBITA margin improved by
30 basis points to 12.2 percent (11.9 percent in 2002) and operating cash flow
grew almost 12 percent from CHF 2'757 million to CHF 3'080 million. These
results were achieved in an unfavorable eco-nomic and political environment and
despite a markedly adverse evolution of foreign currencies for the Group, which
reports in Swiss francs.
Sales Performance
At constant currencies, sales improved by 6.3 percent, clearly above market
growth rates. Strong organic growth of 5.5 percent, combining real internal
growth of 2.1 percent and pricing 3.4 percent, accelerated over the first
quarter, but could not compensate the negative currency impact of 12.6 percent,
resulting in an overall decline of reported sales in Swiss francs of 6.3
percent. The significant organic growth demonstrates on the one hand the
strength of the Group's brands on a global scale and on the other the special
efforts made in inflationary countries to protect the margins.
Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as Africa, clearly
exceed the Group average organic growth. Most product groups, with the exception
of chocolate and confectionery and petcare, contributed to the positive
development, with soluble coffees, chilled culinary and water showing excellent
progress. This is also the case for Beverage Partners Worldwide and for Alcon.
The strength of the Swiss franc against most currencies, with the exception of
the Euro, reduced the Group's consolidated sales by 12.6 percent, while
acquisitions, net of divestitures, had a positive impact of 0.8 percent. With a
sales growth of 6.3 percent at constant exchange rates, the Group continues to
grow faster than the food industry.
Sales and EBITA Margin by Management Responsibilities and Geographic Areas
January- January- Organic Growth January-June January-June
June June January-June 2003 2002
2003 2002 2003
Sales Margins Margins
in CHF millions % % %
Food
* Europe 14'130 13'808 +3.2 11.8 11.0
* Americas 12'354 14'513 +5.9 13.7 13.4
* Asia, Oceania and Africa 6'834 7'495 +3.5 17.7 17.3
Nestle Waters 3'948 3'935 +9.5 9.6 9.4
Other Activities (a) 4'171 4'468 +11.0 19.2 19.5
Group Totals 41'437 44'219 +5.5 12.2 11.9
(a) Mainly pharmaceutical products, joint-ventures and "Trinks" (Germany)
Sales and EBITA Margin by Product Groups
January-June January- RIG Margins Margins
2003 June January-June January-June January-June
2002 2003 2003 2002
Sales
in CHF millions % % %
Beverages 11'195 11'652 +5.2 17.2 17.7
Milk Products, Nutrition and Ice Cream 11'031 12'075 +1.0 12.2 11.8
Prepared Dishes and Cooking Aids 7'573 7'592 +1.8 11.6 11.0
Petcare 4'674 5'407 -0.2 13.7 12.2
Chocolate, Confectionery and Biscuits 4'415 4'788 -2.3 6.2 6.6
Pharmaceutical Products 2'549 2'705 +7.1 27.1 26.2
Group Totals 41'437 44'219 +2.1 12.2 11.9
All calculations based on non-rounded figures
Profit Performance
With the EBITA margin up 30 basis points to 12.2 percent, the Group showed its
capacity to improve operating efficiency even in difficult circumstances and an
unfavorable currency environment. Nestle proved able to maintain or improve its
margins by passing on rising raw material costs or inflationary pressures. At
constant exchange rates, the EBITA margin shows an improvement of 70 basis
points, to 12.6 percent. The progress is noticeable in all geographic zones, as
well as in Nestle Waters, with Zone Europe generating a significant improvement
of 80 basis points. In Latin America, the Group's companies focused on
protecting their margins, contributing to the Zone Americas' EBITA margin
improvement of 30 basis points. Building on the good per-formance of 2002, Zone
Asia, Oceania and Africa managed to improve its margin by 40 basis points.
The product categories performed well, with improvements in EBITA margins in
milk products, nutrition and ice cream, prepared dishes and cooking aids, and
petcare. The EBITA margin in beverages dipped slightly. The margins in
chocolate, confectionery and biscuits, meanwhile, reflect the seasonality of
that business.
Cost of goods sold dropped by 100 basis points to 42.4 percent of sales. Overall
marketing and administration expenses increased 70 basis points, reflecting
continued investment in the Group's brands, while administration expenditures as
such fell by 10 basis points.
Continuing lower interest rates and an efficient management of debt and
liquidities account for the sharp drop in net financing costs to CHF 191 million
(CHF 427 million in January-June 2002). The strength of the Swiss franc also
reduced the weight of the debt, which is held largely in US dollars.
The net profit and earnings per share comparisons between 2002 and 2003 have to
be seen in the light of the one-off gains in 2002, which resulted from the IPO
of Alcon and disposal of FIS, and totaled over CHF 4.5 billion, as well as by
extraordinary restructuring costs and the impairments of goodwill and assets in
2002, which totaled CHF 2.1 billion. On an underlying basis, the net profit
increased by 4.9 percent and by 19.1 percent in constant currencies.
Cash Flow and Balance Sheet
Nestle continues to benefit from an exceptionally healthy financial position.
Operating cash flow, with an increase of nearly 12 percent, grew significantly
faster than EBITA, despite negative foreign exchange rates. Capital expenditure
remained at 1st half 2002 levels as a percentage of sales, underscoring the
declining trend over several years. Net indebtedness rose from CHF 15.0 billion
at the year-end 2002 to CHF 21.1 billion, mainly as a result of the Group's
decision to carry the Dreyer's outstanding shares repurchasing scheme as a
long-term debt. The ratio of net debt to equity now stands at 59 percent.
The Group actively pursued its streamlining of product groups, concentrating on
businesses with demonstrated profitable growth opportunities. At the end of
June, the merger with Dreyer's, the leading premium ice cream business in the
USA, was successfully concluded, following the important acquisition of Powwow,
the European Home and Office Delivery Water group and the acquisition of the
Movenpick ice cream activities in Europe. Also during the period Nestle divested
several businesses such as Ortega (Mexican style food, USA), Mont Blanc
(milk-based desserts, France) as well as chilled milk products and sweetened
condensed milk in Germany. The Group furthermore reduced its participation in
the German roast and ground specialty coffee company Dallmayr to 25 percent.
Outlook
After a challenging first half, the Group looks forward to a more favorable
trading environment. It expects the initiatives already taken will ensure the
Group's competitive position in the remaining months and beyond. Nestle's broad
presence across geography and businesses positions it well to take advantage of
any improve-ment in the economic climate. The Group has shown that, even in a
tough trading environment, good organic growth, as well as improvements in EBITA
margin and cash flow, are achievable and expects to be able to deliver these for
2003 as a whole.
Contacts:
Media: Francois-Xavier Perroud Tel.: +41-21-924 2596
Investors: Roddy Child-Villiers Tel.: +41-21-924 3622
In addition, the following events will be broadcast on the Corporate Investor
Relations site (http://www.ir.nestle.com):
Time (CET) Event Online publication
0900 European analysts' conference call hosted by Mr Wolfgang live audio broadcast
Reichenberger, Chief Financial Officer, Nestle S.A. slide presentation
1400 US analysts' conference call hosted by Mr Wolfgang Reichenberger live audio broadcast
slide presentation
Access for audio with synchronised slide presentation is via http://
www.worlductx.com/nestle_results03/ for both analysts' conferences (0900 and
1400).
Additionally, we are offering a phone-in conference listen-only possibility.
Please call +44 (0) 208 400 6353 (0900 CET call) or +1 800 218 0713 / +1 303 262
2127(1400 CET call).
All these services will be available as archives following the event. For the
phone-in, please call +44 (0) 208 797 2499 - access code 922028# (0900 CET call)
and +1 800 405 2236 / +1 303 590 3000- access code 547038# (1400 CET call).
These archives will be available for 90 days.
The complete 2003 Half-Yearly Sales and Results of the Nestle Group can be
downloaded from our website:
http://www.ir.nestle.com/r_HalfYear2003.asp
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
IR IIFERTLIIFIV