Nestlé's sales rise in first quarter

Nestlé, the world's largest food company, delivered strong sales in the first three months of this year, despite soaring commodity prices.

The maker of Kit Kat and Nescafé grew sales by 4.9 per cent to Sfr20.3bn (£13.9bn), boosted by double-digit growth in emerging markets. Paul Bulcke, Nestlé's chief executive, said: "We achieved growth in all categories in the first three months of 2011, maintaining last year's momentum." The group reconfirmed its guidance for this year on sales and margins.