Mubasher: Nestle on Thursday reported a profit decline of 15.8% to CHF 7.2 billion ($7.76 billion) in 2017, exceeding forecasts.

The profit fall was mainly “due to an impairment of goodwill related to Nestlé Skin Health, which was taken to reflect the current prospects of the business,” the Swiss food and beverage giant stated.

Economists, polled by Reuters, had expected profits to reach CHF 9.65 billion.

Meanwhile, the company’s sales were CHF 89.8 billion, down 0.4% from 2016, while analysts had projected sales of CHF 90.097 billion.

"We were somewhat surprised with the fourth quarter that came in a little softer than anticipated,” Nestle CEO Mark Schneider said.

However, Schneider showed confidence about the Swiss giant’s future performance, noting that these falls are “transitory”.

Nestle’s stock last slipped 2.38% to EUR 75.48.