COFFEE and sweets manufacturer Nestl has fallen short of profits forecasts after sales were affected by poor weather and rising crop prices.

The Swiss group, which runs the Nestl-Rowntree factory in York, said conditions were particularly difficult in its key European market.

Nestl said challenging trading conditions in western Europe were made worse by poor weather which contrasted sharply with the heatwave of last year. This hit sales of ice creams and water in particular.

But the Kit Kat and Nescafe maker remained confident of hitting its target of up to six per cent organic growth and said the half-year performance showed its efficiency programmes were on track.

A spokeswoman said that while the company could not say how its York division was performing, sales of its key chocolate bar, Kit Kat, had risen by nine per cent in recent weeks.

No one from Nestl in York was available to speak to The Northern Echo last night.

Net profits for the whole of Nestl for the six months to June 30 were £1.25bn, compared with £1.22bn a year ago. This was lower than the £1.27bn expected by analysts.

Chief executive Peter Brabeck-Letmathe said profitability improved by 20 per cent in the first six months of this year.

Cost-cutting measures have included 270 job losses at a factory in Halifax, West Yorkshire, which makes Easter eggs and Quality Street chocolates.

The efficiency drive has helped offset the impact of rising energy costs and higher prices for key ingredients such as coffee, milk and sugar.

The downbeat assessment of the European market offered by Nestl mirrored comments made by Anglo-Dutch rival Unilever last month.

Nestl said sales in Europe before acquisitions fell 0.4 per cent - a more resilient performance than Unilever, which saw sales fall by five per cent in the same period.

Weak demand for ice cream and water were offset to a degree by a good performance by its culinary and healthcare nutrition ranges.

Nestl said a heavier product launch programme in the second half of the year would improve sales in Europe, including the arrival of low-carbohydrate bars of Kit Kat and Rolo.

Kit Kat, which is soon to drop its famous advertising slogan "Have a break, have a Kit-Kat", is also launching the chocolate biscuit in lime crush and Christmas pudding flavours in an attempt to reverse flagging sales.

It recently launched a lemon cheesecake flavour Kit Kat.