Nestle said on Thursday it has excluded its Russian business from its consolidated accounts after Moscow seized the unit, as the Swiss food giant reported third-quarter organic sales growth of 4%, beating analyst expectations of 3.4%, Reuters reported.

President Vladimir Putin ordered the temporary seizure of Nestle's Russian assets on September 17, according to Reuters, which described the move as part of an intensifying crackdown on European firms because of Europe's support for Ukraine, citing Russian officials and US business people.

Chief financial officer Anna Manz said the Russian business contributed around 2% of group sales and was no longer being consolidated from the end of September, with no impact on organic sales, volumes or pricing. She said reported sales, underlying trading operating profit and free cash flow would be affected from the fourth quarter.

Nestle said it was derecognising assets in Russia worth 1.6 billion Swiss francs — yaani about 1.6 billion francs of assets written off its consolidated books — and recognising a non-cash charge of around 1.4 billion francs for cumulative currency translation adjustments. Derecognising the net assets would negatively affect net debt by approximately 900 million francs (about $1.09 billion — yaani just over one billion dollars) for 2026, the company said.

The maker of Maggi stock cubes and Nescafe coffee maintained its full-year 2026 organic sales outlook of 3-4%. Price increases of 1.1% were below the 1.9% analysts expected, while real internal growth — sales volumes — rose 2.8%, above expectations of 1.5%, Reuters said. Shares were indicated 1.3% higher in pre-market trading.

"I am pleased with our progress," chief executive Philipp Navratil, who took the role in September 2025, said. "But I am not satisfied. There is much more for us to do to deliver the potential of the business."