Nestle says it is now well positioned in confectionery

[February 19, 2019]    ZURICH (Reuters) - Nestle's success with its KitKat brand means its does not need to add new businesses after selling its candy unit to Italy's Ferrero last year, the Swiss food group's global head of confectionery said.

Kit Kat chocolate covered wafer bars manufactured by Nestle are seen in London, Britain, July 25, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/Photo Illustration

"Now we are very well positioned with our portfolio," Alexander von Maillot told journalists on a call on Tuesday.

He said he expected Nestle's KitKat chocolate bars, the biggest brand in its confectionery portfolio with more than one billion Swiss francs in sales, to continue to grow in high single digits.

"At 9 percent (organic sales growth in 2018) KitKat is strongly outperforming the market. We are convinced we can continue this," von Maillot said.

Nestle's confectionery unit posted organic sales growth of 2.7 percent and had sales of 8.123 billion Swiss francs ($8.09 billion) last year.

The Swiss company said it would launch green tea matcha-flavored KitKat bars, a big success in the Japanese market, in Europe starting in late February as it targets health-conscious consumers with innovative products.

(Reporting by Angelika Gruber. Writing by Silke Koltrowitz; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and John Revill)

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