In the wake of Marmite-gate and the Unilever pricing spat with Tesco, the papers put Nestlé results in the spotlight. The Telegraph writes that the price of a Kit Kat could rise as Nestlé mulls UK price hike. “First they came for our Marmite, then they came for our Kit Kats,” the paper says. Nestlé cut its forecast for sales growth this year as it struggles with competition and said it could increase its prices in the UK (and around the world), The Times reports. The Swiss food company said it now expected full-year organic sales growth of 3.5%, down from its previous guidance of a 4.2%. Speaking as the Swiss firm released disappointing sales figures on Thursday, chief executive Paul Bulcke said the firm’s UK business would make its own decision on prices but admitted they could rise (The Guardian). Deflation and the sluggish global economy bit into the Swiss food group’s revenues, The Financial Times added.
Pernod Ricard also warned that the slump in the pound after the Brexit vote would force it to raise prices in the UK on some of its top drinks brands, The Guardian says. CFO Gilles Bogaert said that the French drinks company planned to adjust its prices in Britain on imported brands to protect its profit margins. Underlying sales growth at spirits maker Pernod Ricard picked up in the first three months of its new financial year as sales in China improved, helping the French group beat expectations for the quarter (The Financial Times).
The US owner of the Boots chain has reported a jump in quarterly profits as it reaped the benefits of cost-cutting, The Guardian writes. Walgreens Boots Alliance posted net earnings of $1bn in the three months to 31 August, its fourth quarter, up sharply from $26m (£21m) a year earlier. Walgreens Boots Alliance has delayed the takeover of the rival pharmacy chain Rite Aid to give it more time to offload hundreds of outlets and satisfy the US competition watchdog (The Times).
Finally, the House of Commons has demanded that Sir Philip Green be stripped of his knighthood, after MPs lined up to denounce the Topshop tycoon as a “billionaire spiv” who was “not particularly good at retail” (The Financial Times).
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