24/04/2026

BIZ & FINANCE FRIDAY | APR 24, 2026

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Nestle bullish on change in consumer behaviour o Shoppers walking rather than driving to stores, people eating more at home as inflation bites: CEO

Heineken beer sales down in ‘increasingly complex’ economy THE HAGUE: Heineken said yesterday its beer sales fell in the first quarter but kept profit forecasts for the year unchanged despite concerns over an “increasingly complex” global economic environment. Global beer volumes for the world’s second-biggest brewer, after AB InBev, came in at 53.6 million hectolitres in the first three months of the year, compared to 54.1 million in 2025. “The macro-economic environment is increasingly complex and uncertain, with potential impacts from higher energy prices, and supply shortages in particular markets,“ the firm said in a statement. “This may disrupt global trade flow and trigger weaker consumer sentiment, which in turn may affect beer market growth.” The brewer has been struggling in recent months and said in February it was shedding up to 6,000 jobs. Heineken’s CEO Dolf van den Brink also stunned the company by announcing he would be stepping down after six “turbulent” years at the helm. The firm, however, maintained its full-year outlook for a gain of between 2% and 6% in operating profits, its preferred metric. “Our outlook is based on the assumption of a temporary rather than a prolonged disruption in global energy trade,“ the firm noted. Heineken no longer publishes quarterly net profit figures, unveiling these only in half-year or full-year reports. Its annual report published in February showed net profit of €2.7 billion (RM12.3 billion), which the firm said was a 4.9% gain on last year when currency fluctuations were stripped out. Heineken said its low or non-alcoholic brands performed strongly in the first quarter, with volumes up “in the low teens”. – AFP Renault says electric cars boost first quarter turnover PARIS: French automaker Renault said yesterday that fast increasing sales of electric cars boosted its first quarter revenue which rose 7.3% to hit €12.5 billion (RM58 billion). The group said it saw major sales boosts in key markets, including India (+47%), Morocco (+20%), Turkey (+13%) and Colombia (+10%). Global sales of completely electric vehicles rose 21% against the same period last year, and now account for 17% of sales, the group said. While overall registered sales fell 3.3% to 546,183 vehicles, the higher price paid for electric vehicles boosted the revenue figure. In Europe, electric and hybrid electric-petrol cars rose 12% in the quarter and now account for 52% of Renault’s overall sales, it said. The turnover figure was also strengthened by Renault’s move to take full control of a plant in India that it had previously shared with its partner Nissan. By putting all of the plant’s production in its accounts, Renault added some €200 million to its quarterly turnover. Renault finance director Duncan Minto told journalists no immediate “impact” on demand had been felt from the Middle East war but the group was still taking savings measures. He did not give details but Renault announced this month that it would reduce the number of engineer jobs around the world by 15%-20% over the next two years. Shares in Renault jumped 2.6% in a French market up 0.4% overall. – AFP

quarter, adding that product availability was now back to normal. Total reported sales decreased by 5.8% to 21.3 billion Swiss francs (RM108 billion) meeting analyst estimates. A source close to Nestle told Reuters in February that Navratil is planning a sharper focus on four product categories – coffee, petcare, nutrition and health, and food and snacking – to try to increase sales volumes this year. The strategy reflects a stronger emphasis on the four areas rather than a major overhaul of the business, the source added. Nestle’s 2.3% first-quarter price increases met the average analyst estimate of 2.3%. Real internal growth – or sales volumes – rose 1.2% versus expectations of a 0.1% increase, driven by coffee, food and snacks. “Nestlé is showing early signs of reigniting volume growth,” Vontobel analyst Jean-Philippe Bertschy said. “This is the kind of reassurance investors were waiting for and it corroborates management’s relatively upbeat tone following the full-year 2025 results.” – Reuters y

But CEO Philipp Navratil said consumer behaviour was changing in response to a surge in fuel prices. Shoppers are walking rather than driving to stores, he said, and eating at home rather than in restaurants, especially in emerging markets. “We are very well set up because we’re very well distributed in those countries,” Navratil said. “Our portfolio is very well set up for people being more at home – we’ve done very well in emerging markets.” Nestle reported yesterday that first-quarter emerging market organic sales growth increased by 4.6%. The Swiss firm posted better-than-expected overall first-quarter sales growth as more people bought its coffee and pet food. Organic sales, which exclude the impact of currency movements and acquisitions, rose 3.5% in the three months ended March. Analysts had on average expected organic sales growth of 2.4%. The company said its organic growth had taken a roughly 90 basis-point hit due to a recall of infant formula products during the g

LONDON: Nestle could benefit from people dining at home rather than eating out as conflict in the Middle East drives inflation, it said yesterday, but its results statement also cautioned higher energy and freight would add to distribution costs. Nestle, the world’s biggest packaged food company which makes Maggi seasonings, Nescafe coffee and KitKat chocolate wafer bars, said it had seen “very little impact” so far on its global business from the war that began at the end of February with US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran. It maintained its full-year outlook of organic growth between 3% and 4%, and a higher underlying trading operating profit margin than last year.

A worker arranges packets of Nestle’s Maggi noodles next to Reliance’s Snac tac noodles on a shelf inside a Reliance supermarket in India’s commercial capital Mumbai. – REUTERSPIC

US doesn’t get to dictate terms of trade talks: Carney TORONTO: The United States does not get to dictate the terms of upcoming trade talks, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Wednesday, following reports Washington wants an “entry fee” before agreeing to open negotiations. Asked about those reports in Ottawa, and whether Canada will give concessions in order to persuade the US to talk, Carney said “no.” “It’s not a case of the United States dictates the terms,“ he said. “It’s not a case of (one country) demanding and the other begging,“ he added in French. “It’s a negotiation.” agreement need to substantially change. Canada is “doubling down on globalisation when we’re trying to correct for the problems of globalisation“, Greer testified. “So those are two models that don’t fit together very well.“

Since taking office just over one year ago, Carney has maintained a defiant tone in response to Trump’s threats, insisting Canada will not buckle when faced with unreasonable trade demands. He has also said Canada needs to dramatically reduce its economic and security reliance on the United States. In an address to the nation on Sunday, he said: “Many of our former strengths based on our close ties to America have become our weaknesses, weaknesses that we must correct.” Trump has imposed punishing tariffs on key Canadian sectors but has so far adhered to most of the USMCA, meaning more than 85% of US-Canada trade has remained tariff-free. – AFP

The United States and Canada are set to hold talks on revising a North American free trade agreement, a pact President Donald Trump signed and praised during his first term but now dismisses as “irrelevant.” Quoting multiple Canadian sources, Canada’s public broadcaster CBC reported on Wednesday that Trump’s team wants an “entry fee,“ or concessions, from Canada before starting talks on revising the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Former Quebec premier Jean Charest, now a member of Carney’s advisory council on US trade, told French public broadcaster Radio-Canada that Trump is demanding“concessions before we sit down at the table.”

The prime minister said Canada recognised the United States has “trade irritants” it wants addressed. “We have some on our side as well,“ he told reporters, saying “the time will come to really roll up our sleeves.” The offices of US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer did not immediately reply to requests for comment on the CBC’s report. But Greer told Congress on Wednesday the Trump administration is not going to “rubber stamp”a renewal of the USMCA. Greer has repeatedly said parts of the