GENEVA (AP) - Swiss food and drinks giant Nestle SA has posted a full-year net profit of 9.5 billion Swiss francs ($10.35 billion) for 2011 - and predicted a tough year ahead.
Sales reached 83.6 billion francs ($91.11 billion), down from almost 110 billion francs in 2010.
The results from the maker of Nescafe, Perrier, Jenny Craig and Haagen Dazs compare with a full-year 2010 profit of 34.23 billion Swiss francs ($35.8 billion), which was inflated by the sale of its stake in eye care company Alcon that added 24.5 billion francs net to its balance sheet.
The CEO of the world's biggest food and drink company, Paul Bulcke, said Thursday that "it was a challenging year and we do not expect 2012 to be any easier."