The world's largest food company, Nestlé, is upbeat about the prospects for sales and profits this year, following strong nine-month results.

The world's largest food company, Nestlé, is upbeat about the prospects for sales and profits this year, following strong nine-month results.

Nestlé announced on Tuesday that sales for the nine months reached SFr59.5 billion ($33 billion), up 9.5 per cent over the same period last year.

In a statement from its headquarters at Vevey on Lake Geneva, Nestlé said the sales figures confirmed the generally good prospects for the full year 2000.

It added that at comparable structure and constant exchange rates, sales growth amounted to 4.9 per cent.

Real internal growth at the end of September stood at 4.2 per cent.

Nestlé said that European sales were strongly affected by the divestiture of Findus, with annual sales of about SFr900 million, as well as by the weakening of the euro against the Swiss franc.

Sales in the Americas benefited from exceptionally strong performance in Mexico and a recovery in most Latin American economies. Asia, Oceania and Africa registered continuing good growth in most areas.

Nestlé said that most product groups performed well, with particularly strong growth in soluble coffees in East Europe, Asia and Latin America.

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