Further contaminations were detected in March and April at the Perrier production site in Vergèze, southern France. The scandal involving mineral water, sold as natural or spring water, is continuing to affect Nestlé in France. However, this affair has had little impact on the accounts of the global agri-food leader, which boasts brands such as Nescafé, Nespresso, KitKat, Maggi and Purina. On Thursday, April 24, it announced a sales increase of 2.3% to 22.6 billion Swiss francs (€24 billion) for the first quarter of its fiscal year 2025, and 2.8% at constant exchange rates and scope. It also confirmed its targets for the whole of 2025.

It is true that the water business is the smallest segment for the Swiss giant. It accounted for 3.2 billion Swiss francs in 2024, representing 3.5% of its total sales. It further grew by 3.9% in the first quarter of 2025. As for the operating margin of this branch, estimated at 9.3%, it is much lower than that of the group as a whole, which slightly decreased in 2024 to 17.2%. But its brands, including San Pellegrino, Vittel and Perrier, are emblematic.

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