date:Apr 17, 2013
The world's largest yoghurt maker, with brands including Actimel and Activia, said sales remained weak in austerity-hit Southern Europe and that it expected consumer trends in Europe to stay negative this year.
Like-for-like sales grew 5.6 percent in the quarter, beating company-compiled analysts' forecasts for 4.2 percent growth, driven by robust demand for baby food, medical nutrition and water.
Total sales, which include the effects of foreign exchange fluctuations, reached 5.338 billion eu