Swiss food giant Nestle saw shares fall in early trade on Thursday, after cutting its annual growth forecast by 0.7 percent.

The group lowered its growth forecast from 4.2 percent, given in August, to 3.5 percent as the weak pound impacts trading. Sales increased in the first nine months of the year to 65.51 billion Swiss francs, up from 64.86 billion in the same period last year.

However, like many other large firms such as Unilever, the weak pound has caused a need to raise prices and is set to impact negatively on sales. The Pound has fallen 16 percent against the euro since Britain’s vote to Leave the European Union in June.

Nestle chief executive Paul Bulcke said in a statement: “In an environment marked by deflation and low raw material prices, we continued to privilege volume growth.”

Nestle (VTX:NESN) shares plunged at the open of Thursday’s session, before climbing higher. They are currently trading down 0.87 percent at 74.00 (1305GMT).

20/10/2016