Nestle reported a sales decline in the first quarter as new Chief Executive Philipp Navratil pushes forward with a sweeping overhaul of the food giant's structure. The maker of KitKat and Nescafe generated 21.32 billion Swiss francs ($27.17 billion) in sales, down from 22.6 billion francs in the same period last year.

While the headline figure fell short of year-ago levels, analysts had expected even weaker performance at 21.27 billion francs. More encouragingly, organic sales—stripping out currency fluctuations and acquisitions—rose 3.5%, beating a company-compiled consensus of 2.4%. This suggests underlying demand remains resilient despite the structural changes underway.

Navratil took over as CEO last year and has been reshaping Nestle's operations to address shifting consumer preferences and competitive pressures in the packaged food sector. The organic growth beat indicates the overhaul isn't disrupting current operations, though the overall revenue drop reflects currency headwinds and portfolio rationalization.