Asset sale helps boost Nestle profits

FOOD group Nestle returned to the black last year making a pre-tax profit of almost €6.5 million.

Nestle Ireland, which makes Kit Kat chocolate bars and Nescafe coffee, had a loss of €14 million in 2002 in 2002, though this was mainly due to the sale of its sauces business in Dublin.

Accounts filed recently at the Companies Registration Office show the bulk of the profits came from the sale of a fixed asset, which added €4.9 million to earnings for the years.