Mubasher: Nestle on Thursday said its sales levelled down in the first nine months of 2017 to reach CHF 65.27 billion ($66.72 billion), compared to CHF 65.51 billion ($66.96 billion) in the year-ago period.

The sales’ drop is attributed to the decrease in investments, the Swiss food company added.

Nestle's net sales grew 2.6% to exceed analysts' expectations. 

Year-on-year, Nestle’s sales in the US rose to CHF 20.5 billion ($20.95 billion), from CHF 20.1 billion ($20.55 billion).

At the level of the first nine months of 2017, Switzerland-based food firm’s sales in the Euro and MENA zones tumbled to CHF 11.8 ($12.06 billion), compared to CHF 13 billion ($13.29 billion) in the same period in the year before.

“Our sales results for the nine-month period are in line with our expectations communicated in July,” Nestlé CEO, Mark Schneider said.