The year in review was indeed not easy. It is true that the strength of the dollar and the yen have almost entirely offset the depreciation of the Brazilian real, sharply reducing the negative impact of exchange rates that it experienced in recent years. Nevertheless, the depreciation of the real, the currency of a key market in the Nestlé Group, pushed our consolidated sales down by nearly CHF 1.5 billion. All the more reason then to be pleased that real internal growth once again improved, to 3.6%. This shows that the Company can adapt and seize market opportunities even in difficult times. Nestlé made excellent

Net financing costs were Fr. 567 million against Fr. 449 million in the first half of 1998. The increase is due to higher average net debt, caused by the financing burden of the major acquisitions and increases in participations executed during 1998 as well as by the substantial investment in the Company's own shares. The average interest rate on the Group's global net debt portfolio fell slightly.

The positive impact from selling prices and residual items was relatively modest at 0.6%, as a declining trend in raw material costs limited the need for price increases.

Some topics in this essay:
Latin America, South American, , North America, Japan United, Profit Trading, Sales Sales, Mexico USA, June Compared, South America, trading profit, profit margin, trading profit margin, net profit, eastern europe, western europe, half 1999, own shares, net debt, exchange rates, pet food, real internal growth, operating cash flow, half 1999 nestlé, profit margin rose,