Swiss food and beverage company Nestlé SA on Feb. 13 posted 2019 earnings that met analysts' expectations, but pushed back on its growth target for 2020 amid uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

"We were aiming for mid-single-digit organic growth, hence 4% to 6%, by the year of 2020," Nestlé CEO Mark Schneider said during a press conference. "What we are telling you now, with this guidance, is we are a year early on the underlying trading operating profit margin. ... What we are also telling you is on the organic sales growth, we are committed to mid-single-digit organic [growth], but we have to push back to a year or so."

In its statement, the maker of KitKat chocolate bars and Gerber baby goods said it expects a continued increase in organic sales growth. The company foresees further organic sales growth acceleration in 2021/2022 toward sustainable mid-single-digit growth.

Schneider maintained that it is difficult at this time to assess the financial impact of the coronavirus outbreak, which originated in China. Greater China is the company's second-largest market, accounting for about 8% of global sales.

In China, Nestlé's priority is to ensure uninterrupted supply of food and beverages to consumers, Schneider said. A large proportion of Nestlé's plants in China resumed operation in the week beginning Feb. 10, although at reduced capacity because not all employees were able to return to work due to restricted public transportation, Schneider added.

In midmorning trading in Zurich, Nestlé's shares were down CHF2.14, or 2%, at CHF104.94.

In its 2019 results, Nestlé said it reached its profitability target range set under its medium-term plan a year earlier than expected. The Vevey, Switzerland-based company attributed its growth to strong momentum in the U.S. market and to the Purina Petcare brand globally.

For the 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2019, Nestlé said underlying EPS rose 9.8% year over year to CHF4.41 from CHF4.02, in line with the S&P Global Market Intelligence mean consensus estimate. The company said the share buyback program contributed 1.9% to the increase, as CHF9.7 billion of shares were repurchased in 2019.

Revenue rose 1.2% to CHF92.57 billion from CHF91.44 billion in 2018, missing the Market Intelligence consensus estimate of CHF93.27 billion. The company said foreign-exchange translation reduced revenue by 1.5%.

However, the company said net acquisitions increased sales by 3.5%, largely due to the purchase of the license from Starbucks Corp. and the rollout of its Starbucks premium products, which it described as a "great success."

"In 2019, we made significant progress in our portfolio transformation," Schneider said in the statement. "We did what we said we would do and more. We are not done yet. We will respond to rapid changes in the industry and fast-evolving consumer preferences to position our portfolio for higher growth."

Nestlé Waters underperformed as sales dropped 0.8%. The unit experienced negative growth in Europe, with a weak second half of the year, the company said. Schneider said the water business "has been a source of disappointment for the past two years, and especially in 2019." In 2020, the company plans to focus more on its premium water products.

Nestlé divested Nestlé Skin Health in 2019 and completed the $4 billion sale of its U.S. ice cream business to Froneri Ltd. on Jan. 31. The company has agreed to sell 60% of its stake in cold cuts and meat business Herta SAS to Casa Tarradellas S.A..

Schneider, who has overseen a slate of acquisitions and disposals during his tenure, said the company continued to keep an eye out for acquisition targets. Smaller and medium-sized acquisitions "are our sweet spot," Schneider said, noting that such deals resulted in fewer integration and antitrust challenges.

Nestlé already has taken steps to expand its medical nutrition business. In January, for example, Nestlé agreed to acquire from Allergan PLC the gastrointestinal product Zenpep, a treatment for people who cannot digest food properly and which had 2018 sales of $237 million. In February, Nestlé Health Science agreed to make an additional equity investment of $200 million in Aimmune Therapeutics Inc., taking its total investment in Aimmune to date to $473 million. Nestlé made the additional investment shortly after Aimmune received U.S. regulatory approval to market a peanut allergy drug.