Nestle CEO Philipp Navratil
ZURICH: Nestle views its stake in L'Oreal as a financial investment, and while it is regularly reviewed, there is nothing new to report on the matter, Nestle CEO Philipp Navratil was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
"This stake is a financial investment for us," Navratil told Swiss newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft in an interview, when asked about the stake. "We review it time and again with the board of directors, but there's nothing new to say."
Navratil, who took the helm in September after a period of unusual turmoil at the company, said Nestle intended to reach its goal of 4% organic growth as fast as possible.
He added he was very confident about the growth prospects with pet food and saw "incredible opportunities" on coffee.
"I'm not asking myself what else we need to acquire. What we need are innovations to accelerate growth," Navratil said.
Nestle is sticking to plans to review its water business - for which it is looking for a strategic partner - and its mainstream vitamins and nutritional supplements division, Navratil added.
"We're working to finalize these deals as quickly as possible, but also with the right details. Both are complex separations," he said.
The CEO said the planned divestitures would help reduce Nestle's debt levels, noting the firm is also reviewing its balance sheet to see what other measures are possible.
Ideally, Nestle wants to bring cash flow back towards 10 billion Swiss francs, Navratil said. - Reuters
