Nestle S.A (NSRGF) Q2 2026 Earnings Call

Investor webinar replay

Replay transcript excerpt

Good morning and welcome to Nestlé's half-year 2026 results. I'm David Hancock, Head of Investor Relations, and I'm joined today by Philip Navratil, CEO, and Anna Manz, CFO. Before we get started, please take a moment to review the disclaimer on slide two. Let me quickly take you through our agenda. We'll start with an overview of the key messages and updates from Philip before Anna reviews the numbers in more detail. We will then open up the lines for Q&A. And with that, I'll hand over to Philip. Thanks, David. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. Let me start with some key messages. First, our execution is improving and this is driving growth. For the last four quarters, we have delivered GERT OG and RIG. Now we need to keep delivering consistently and accelerate RIG to at least 2%. Second, we are sharpening our portfolio. The partnership for waters is an important step here. This is about focusing to win. Third, efficiency and cash. We are becoming a more efficient company and we are delivering cost savings slightly ahead of plan. This creates additional resources to reinvest in growth. Free cash flow was strong. Finally, we are on track to deliver our 2026 guidance. Our strategy is clear. Now it is all about consistent execution. Quarter after quarter, half after half. The first half showed encouraging financial progress. Growth was broad-based and risk strengthened from Q1 to Q2. Profitability improved from the low point in H2 last year. Free cash flow was much stronger than at this time last year and net debt is lower. The actions we are taking are gaining traction and we see plenty of opportunities ahead of us to further improve execution. By now, this should be a familiar slide. I have shared these priorities before. The most important is rig...