Nestle CEO Mark Schneider said on Thursday that the global food group behind KitKat, Nescafe and Purina will raise prices again this year. The announcement came after the release of an annual earnings report that showed the company's highest sales growth in 14 years, while higher costs from inflation ate into profit margins.
"Our gross margin is down about 260 basis points - that is massive. That is after all the pricing we have done in 2022," Schneider said during a press conference.
The company raised prices 8.2 percent in 2022, which is higher than the 6.5 percent annual inflation rate in the consumer price index (CPI). While the price hikes didn't hurt overall sales, which rose 8.4 percent, volume was flat. Whether this "volume weakness" persists into this year is the big question facing the company.
Schneider noted that inflation has been more severe in the U.S. than in Europe or China. Prices were up 11.6 percent in North America, compared to 6.4 percent in Europe and 2.5 percent in China, while sales in North America were nearly triple those areas.
He added that inflation has started to slow for some products, but that overall the company's forecast suggests more cost pressure ahead.
“There are a few cost items that have started, on a spot basis, to ease since the autumn — arabica coffee, dairy, some of the energy items — but on a full-year basis we’re still looking at a very bleak picture," he said.
Zainab Salbi, founder of Women for Women International and co-founder of Daughters for Earth, shares why she is putting women in positions of power to fight the climate crisis.
The federal tax collector said Monday that roughly 940,000 people in the U.S. have until May 17 to submit tax returns for unclaimed refunds for tax year 2020, which total more than $1 billion nationwide.
Allies of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Disney have reached a settlement agreement in a state court fight over how Walt Disney World is developed in the future.
Ahead of the WNBA season and in the midst of March Madness, New York Liberty CEO Keia Clarke discusses the team’s new deal with Barclays and bringing even more attention to women’s sports.
U.S. Nissan head Jérémie Papin joins from the New York International Auto Show to give a preview of what’s to come from the carmaker – including the 2025 Nissan Kicks.
Ed Mitzen, the CEO of Business for Good, explains how and why he’s giving back by funding businesses from marginalized entrepreneurs to push social change.
