GENEVA — Swiss food and drinks giant Nestle SA posted an 8.9 percent rise in first-half profits Thursday, but predicted that the remainder of 2012 will be challenging and warned of a slowdown in its key US market. Helped by strong demand from emerging markets, price rises and cost-cutting, the world's biggest food and beverage maker said net profit rose to 5.120 billion Swiss francs ($5.27 billion) in the January to June period, from 4.703 billion francs in the same six months of 2011. Sales rose 7.5 percent to 44.1 billion Swiss francs ($45.37 billion) from last year's 41 billion francs. Based in Vevey, Switzerland, the maker of dozens of household name brands such as Nescafe, Haagen Daz and Jenny Craig reaffirmed its outlook for the rest of the year despite what it called a “tough trading environment, especially in developed markets.” — AP
