Nestlé’s pet care growth slows in the Americas

Switzerland-based Nestlé hit group sales of ₣91.4 billion ($101.1B/€96.8B) in 2024, a 1.8% decrease. Net profit also decreased by 2.9% year-on-year (YoY) to ₣10.8 billion ($12B/€11.4B), though gross profit margin and free cash flow increased slightly. Organic growth company-wide was 2.2%.

Sales for Purina increased from ₣18.86 billion ($20.83B/€19.98B) in 2023 to ₣18.88 billion ($20.85B/€20B) in 2024, a 0.12% YoY increase. The company says this growth was driven by science-based brands like Purina ProPlan, Purina ONE and Friskies, which are continuing a trend.

Organic growth in the pet portfolio was 2.7%. In 2023, it hit 12.1%. The segment’s underlying trading operating profit (UTOP) margin was 21.6%, up from 20.7% in the previous year.

By region

In North America, company-wide organic growth declined by 0.5%. Nestlé highlights negative pricing, partly driven by “competitive dynamics” in pet care. However, the segment was also the region’s largest growth contributor. The company says pet care saw low single-digit growth thanks to premium brands, “particularly in the cat and therapeutic diets segments.”

In Europe, the company has seen growth in pet care market share. There, the segment also saw low single-digit growth, driven by Purina ONE, Gourmet and ProPlan.

In Asia, Oceania and Africa, which are measured as one region in the company’s financials, Nestlé says it has “reignited growth momentum” in pet care. There, brands like Felix and Purina ONE drove high single-digit growth.

Latin American pet care growth was flat, supported by Felix and Friskies.

Guidance

Nestlé CEO Laurent Freixe told investors that despite a challenging macroeconomic context and soft consumer environment, the company achieved “a solid performance” in 2024.

“From 2025, we expect our actions to drive an improvement in organic sales growth, with a lower underlying trading operating profit margin in the short term as we invest for growth,” he adds.

“We’re driving change in context of what is clearly a particularly uncertain period,” adds CFO Anna Manz during the earnings call. She says that Guidance considers current macroeconomic conditions but does not assume any new tariffs or major exchange rate changes.

Nestlé expects improved organic sales growth over 2025, though it did not set a target percentage. The UTOP margin is expected to be “at or above 16%,” despite a margin of 17% in 2024.