LONDON, April 25 (Reuters) - Nestle on Thursday

missed first-quarter organic sales growth estimates, as the

world's biggest packaged food company hiked prices and sold

fewer products, particularly in North America.

The maker of Maggi noodles, Nescafe coffee and KitKat

chocolate wafer bars confirmed its 2024 guidance of organic

sales growth of about 4% and a moderate increase in underlying

trading profit margin.

Organic sales, which exclude the impact of currency

movements and acquisitions, rose 1.4% in the first quarter ended

March, the company said. Analysts had on average expected

organic sales growth of 2.9%.

"We had expected a slow start and see a strong rebound in

RIG (sales volumes) in the second quarter with reliable delivery

for the remainder of the year," CEO Mark Schneider said in a

statement.

The packaged goods industry has for more than two years hit

shoppers with higher prices, citing higher input costs that

started with the COVID-19 pandemic and were exacerbated by

Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The higher prices, however, have hurt sales volumes at big

food and consumer products companies that have lost ground to

cheaper brands.

Total reported sales decreased by 5.9% to 22.1 billion Swiss

Francs ($24.18 billion).

($1 = 0.9141 Swiss francs)