Vevey, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Nestlé SA in Vevey says its subsidiary in Zimbabwe will stop buying milk Sunday 4 October from Gushunga Dairy, reportedly owned by Grace Mugabe, wife of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe. The Mugabes are both on Swiss and European sanctions lists which forbid financial transactions with over 200 individuals and some 40 companies in Zimbabwe, but the sanctions do not apply to transactions within Zimbabwe. The multinational in Vevey has been under pressure this week, particularly from British and South African media, for buying the milk.
The Vevey office issued a statement Friday morning 2 October: “The Dairy Board of Zimbabwe today informed the Gushungo Dairy Estate, and the seven other farms with whom Nestlé began working on a temporary basis in February 2009, that it is now in a position to resume purchasing their milk. Nestlé Zimbabwe therefore will no longer be receiving milk from these eight farms from Sunday 4 October.”
GenevaLunch asked Nestlé about the timing of the announcement from the board, coming right on the heels of public criticism of Nestlé.
Vevey, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Nestlé subsidiary in Zimbabwe buys milk produced on Gushunga Dairy Estate farms seized from their owners between 2002 and 2004, the UK’s Sunday Telegraph reports 26 September.
The dairy farms are part of an estimated 4,800 hectares of prime agricultural land reportedly owned by Robert and Grace Mugabe. Both are on what the EU has labeled “targeted sanctions” lists, with visa and some trade restrictions set for more than 20o individuals and some 40 countries. These were first imposed in 2002 in the wake of the seizures of lands owned by white farmers, part of Mugabe’s land reform. They were extended following the disputed presidential elections in June 2008.
Switzerland also adopted targeted sanctions, in line with those of the European Union [ed. note: UK media have incorrectly reported that Switzerland does not have sanctions because it is not part of the EU], but the Gushunga Dairy is not on the identical EU and Swiss government list of blacklisted businesses. A spokesperson at the finance ministry in Bern told GenevaLunch Monday that the ministry contacted Nestlé when it became aware of the milk sales and it has been assured that the sales are entirely the business of its Zimbabwe subsidiary. “Nestlé confirmed that no individuals or companies in Switzerland were in any way involved in the relevant transactions. Therefore, no further investigations are planned at the moment.” The Bern office noted that the “Swiss legislation on international sanctions, including the sanctions against Zimbabwe, deploys its effects only in the territory of Switzerland. Foreign subsidiaries of Swiss companies are not subject to the Swiss legislation. The dealings of Nestlé Zimbabwe (Private) Ltd are therefore not in violation of the Swiss sanctions regulation against Zimbabwe.”
Swiss and EU sanctions involve only transfers of money or transactions with companies outside Zimbabwe: Even if Gushunga Dairy were on the list, the sanctions would not apply.
Peter Brabeck, chairman, Nestle
Vevey, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Peter Brabeck, chairman of Vevey-based multinational, says the company could reconsider Switzerland as its home base if the government responds to pressure to cap executive salaries.
Minister Doris Leuthard samples chocolates in Broc
Nestle master chocolate maker at work in Broc
Vevey/Broc, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Nestlé Monday 7 September opened its CHF25 million Chocolate Centre of Excellence in Broc, in the hills above the company’s home office in Vevey. A slew of dignitaries, including Switzerland’s minister for economic affairs, Doris Leuthard, and top company officials were present to underscore the unit’s importance.
The new centre is a research and production operation for Nestlé’s premium and luxury chocolate segment, but it “will influence the company’s entire chocolate range,” the company noted in its press release for the event.
Nestlé says that of its CHF9.8 billion in chocolate sales in 2008, some 70 percent came from local sales rather than the global brands for which it is well-known, which had sales of CHF1 billion.
Ghana: local chief holds out cocoa used in Cadbury chocolate (photo: Cadbury)
Geneva/Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – US-based Kraft Foods went public with an offer for Cadbury, UK confectioner, after the British company refused its proposal. Kraft is offering £10.2 billion for Cadbury, which formally turned down the proposal Monday 7 September, noting in a statement that “the board is confident in Cadbury’s standalone strategy and growth prospects as a result of its strong brands, unique category and geographic scope and the continued successful delivery of its ‘Vision into Action’ plan. The board believes that the proposal fundamentally undervalues the group and its prospects.” Shares in the company rose strongly Monday.
Vevey and Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Food and drink giant Nestlé 12 August announced results down 1.5 percent in the first half of 2009 to CHF 52.3 billion in group sales worldwide, compared to the first-half 2008. The Vevey-based company reported that organic growth was up 3.5 percent in the period, with a positive real internal growth rate of just 0.5 percent. Citing a “challenging business environment” worldwide, including a strong Swiss franc, the company nevertheless said it had significantly improved cash flow and reduced debts, improving over-all capital efficiency.
Swisscom announced a drop in revenue of 1.2 percent to CHF 5.9 billion in the first half of 2009, 12 August.
Vevey, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Sales at multinational Nestlé, based in Vevey, slipped by 2.1 percent to CHF25.2 billion and organic growth was 3.8 percent, down from 10 percent in 2008. The company says the results are in line with forecasts and confirm expected full-year results for 2009. Sales were pulled down by acquisitions, -0.7 percent, and the strength of the Swiss franc, with a negative 5.7 percent impact.
Updated 10 April 13:10 London, England and Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Mars has become the latest chocolate maker to go green with its products, making a commitment ” to spend tens of millions of dollars annually certifying that the cocoa used in the $10bn of chocolate products it sells every year is sustainably sourced by 2020,” reports the Financial Times. Mars claims to be the world’s largest end-user of chocolate. The company joins Cadbury (whose European head office is in Rolle, Vaud, Switzerland), the largest chewing gum and sweets maker in the world, which has a significant chocolate business. Cadbury announced in March that it would increase direct Fair Trade buying from farmers, spending £45 million in the next 10 years to “to secure the sustainable socio-economic future of cocoa farming in Ghana, India, Indonesia and the Caribbean where the cocoa farming industry is facing increasing challenges.”
Vevey, Switzerland (RSR/ats, Fre) – Paul Bulcke, CEO of Nestlé, told Sonntag Sunday newspaper 5 April that he expects the company to add 300 jobs in Switzerland this year. The multinational’s long-term outlook is positive, he noted, with an additional billion consumers expected in the next 10 years.
Rome, Italy (TSR, Fre) – The Italian competition commission has ruled against 26 companies in a price-fixing case and is fining them €12.5 million, reports wire service Swiss TXT.
Nestle profits up
Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Nestlé has announced net profits of CHF18 billion, a 69.4% increase over 2007. Consoliated sales for the year were CHF 110b, of which CHF102b were in the food and beverage arm of the business. The company says its very strong growth has allowed it to continue its three-year CHF25 billion share buyback programme.
Updated 15:30 Lausanne, Switzerland (TSR, Fre) – Legal charges against multinational Nestlé, brought by Attac, an anti-globalization group, have been dismissed by a judge in Lausanne. The group took the company to court for hiring Securitas to spy on them during and after the G8 summit in France in 2003. The affair came to light in early 2008.
Paul Polman, ex-Nestle, now Unilever
Mumbai, India (Ad Age) – Paul Polman, who in September left Nestlé in Vevey, Switzerland to take up a new job as CEO of Unilever, was in the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai last week when it was attacked by terrorists, his new company announced Monday.
Levallois-Peret, France and Vevey, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Lars Olofsson, executive vice-president for strategic business units, marketing and sales at Nestlé in Vevey, has been named the new CEO of Carrefour SA, which Bloomberg says is Europe’s biggest retailer. Nestle announced that Oloffson’s role will be filled on a temporary basis by Werner Bauer.
Vevey, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The world’s largest food and drink company, Switzerland-based Nestlé has announced increased sales and has upped its 2008 outlook for organic growth.
Peter Brabeck, chairman, Nestle
Vevey, Switzerland (TSR, Fre) – Vevey and Vaud’s loss is Verbier’s gain: Nestlé’s chairman of the board, Peter Brabeck, has officially moved from La Tour-de-Peilz, a commune in the Vevey district, to Verbier, where he owns a chalet, effective November 2007. Taxes in Verbier and Valais are lower and there are no inheritance taxes.
No milk for sale here! (Beijing, 1985, copyright E Wallace)
Vevey, Switzerland (Genevalunch) - Multinational Nestlé, whose market in China was worth CHF1.6 billion in sales in 2006 and climbed by about 10% in 2007, says independent laboratory tests show its milk products are safe and have no melanine.
Bern, Switzerland (TSR, Fre) – The Swiss government has confirmed to TSR, public television, that it was aware of spies planted by Securitas, the security firm, in an anti-globalization group during the G8 summit in Evian, France in 2003. The confirmation from the Federal Police and Justice Department appears to refer to a case uncovered in early September by TSR. Read more…
Washington, DC, USA (CS Monitor and TSR/ats, Fre) – The US Supreme Court has accepted a lower federal court decision that allows a large group of plaintiffs to seek $400 billion in damages from 50 multinationals who are accused of breaking an international embargo on South Africa during its period of apartheid. The group includes several Swiss companies: UBS, Credit Suisse, Holcim, Ems Chemie, Novartis, Nestlé, Unaxis and Sulzer.
Vevey and Basel, Switzerland (Le Temps) – Nestlé and Novartis Monday released information about their first quarter 2007 performances, with both continuing to show strong sales and turnover. Nestlé’s turnover was up 6.4% over a year earlier, at SFr 24.3 billion and Novartis reported turnover up 18% to $9.82 billion.
Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland (Le Matin, Fre) – Nestlé is wooing Switzerland in the best way it knows how, much as a jilted lover makes up for getting something wrong: it is offering every household (or nearly) a bar of Cailler chocolate. The SFr3 million marketing project involves making and distributing 220 million bars, or 2.2 tons of chocolate made into 100 gram . . .
