Swiss food giant Nestlé has reported worse-than-expected sales for the first half of 2017.

The company - which has a factory in Dalston - saw growth of 2.3 per cent in the second quarter, the same as in the first.

This was lower than the 2.8 per cent expected by market analysts.

Its underlying profit rose by 19 per cent to 6.8bn Swiss francs (£5.4).

The firm also announced organic growth for the rest of the year is likely to be in the "lower half" of its expectations.

Nestlé's Cumbrian operation employs 330 people and has been on the outskirts of the village since 1952.

It processes 65m litres of milk each year and almost 1bn sachets of Nescafé Café Menu products.

The company's chief executive Mark Schneider said that its coffee division had delivered "solid" performance in the first half.

Mr Schneider said: "We are pleased with our value creation progress in the first half of 2017.

"This includes solid operational improvements as well as portfolio management choices and our decision to increase balance sheet efficiency.

"Organic growth in the first half did not fully meet our expectations. While volume growth remains at the high end of our industry, pricing continues to be soft."

He also pointed out the global reach of Nestlé's operations with the company performing well in Asia and Africa but going into "transitory" decline in western Europe and "slight" improvements in the Americas.

"Our coffee, water and petcare businesses confirmed their growth potential with solid first-half results," he added.

"Profitability is in line with our expectations, as restructuring savings and efficiencies have offset higher commodity costs."

"We are accelerating our margin improvement initiatives."

Earlier this year Nestlé announced a announced a "comprehensive review" of its priorities after Dan loeb, an American activist investor, bought a $3.5bn (£2.74bn) stake in the firm through his firm Third Point, and demanded a "bold action plan".