Nestlé beats third-quarter sales forecast as it deconsolidates seized Russian business

Nestlé reported better-than-expected organic sales growth for the third quarter on Thursday and said it had excluded its Russian unit from consolidated accounts after Moscow seized the business last month, Reuters reported.

Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered the temporary seizure of Nestlé’s Russian assets on 17 September, part of an intensifying crackdown on European firms over Europe’s support for Ukraine (The Edge Malaysia; QNC News).

Chief financial officer Anna Manz said the Russian business, 2% of group sales, was deconsolidated from the end of September with no effect on organic sales, volumes or pricing. It will weigh on reported sales, underlying trading operating profit and free cash flow from the fourth quarter.

Nestlé is writing off Russian net assets worth 1.6 billion Swiss francs and booking a 1.4 billion-franc non-cash charge for cumulative currency-translation adjustments. Net debt takes a 900 million-franc ($1.09 billion) hit in 2026, with no effect on total equity, Demócrata reported. The business was 3–4% of underlying operating profit and free cash flow; Nestlé stays its legal owner while the assets sit under temporary external management.

Quarterly organic sales rose 4% (roughly 3.4% expected), with 2.8% real internal growth against a 1.5% forecast. Prices rose 1.1% (1.9% expected); the full-year 3–4% organic outlook was maintained. “I am pleased with our progress,” said chief executive Philipp Navratil, in the role since September 2025. “But I am not satisfied. There is much more for us to do to deliver the potential of the business.”