Swiss food giant Nestle reported on Friday its best quarterly sales growth in almost five years as consumers stockpiled some of its products in preparation for coronavirus lockdowns. First quarter sales in North America and Europe were particularly strong in March, helping to drive an overall surge of 4.3 percent, beating analyst expectations for a 3 percent rise. In North America, Purina Pet care sales climbed by a double-digit percentage, while Nescafe and Coffee Mate drinks had high single-digit surges. In Europe, Middle East, and North Africa, most categories of Nestle product won market share, the company said in a statement, with its Maggi noodles doing well. Nestle's chief executive Mark Schneider said the company was working to adapt to the virus conditions and ensure it had enough raw materials and factory capacity to meet the growing demand, while also taking safety precautions against coronavirus. "Literally everything has been impacted by this," Schneider added. He expected a slow recovery once the coronavirus crisis ended and also warned against getting carried away by the sales increase as the situation was volatile and buying habits were changing. Schneider also said it was impossible to say how much of the sales surge was due to food stockpiling. Nestle also said its underlying sales in Asia dropped by 4.6 percent as customers in China stayed away from restaurants and shops for much of the quarter, however, online sales there jumped. Demand in China was starting to recover but was not at pre-crisis levels, the company added.
