Nestlé, the world’s largest food and beverage company, on Wednesday surprised on the upside, with first-half organic growth within its target range, despite cost pressures and tough markets in Europe.

Organic growth, a key performance measure for the group that makes the Kit Kat chocolate bar and Nescafé coffee, was up 5.2 per cent. This was within its long-term trend target of 5-6 per cent and better than some analysts had been expecting.