Nestle reports net profit of 3.3 billion euros

VEVEY/SWITZERLAND: Nestle on Wednesday reported a net profit of 5.1 billion Swiss francs (3.3 billion euros) for the first semester, a slight drop of 1.9 per cent, but the Swiss food giant did better than expected by analysts.

Analysts questioned by the financial agency AWP had predicted a net profit of only 4.8 billion for the period.

The food giant reported a 1.4 per cent drop in operating profits to 7.4 billion Swiss francs and sales 3.5 per cent up at 52.3 billion between January and June.