Petfood manufacturer Nestlé reported more than a 20 percent increase in sales its pet care segment for the first nine months of 2012.

In the Americas, pet care maintained positive growth, with good performances in the cat category from Friskies and Fancy Feast, as well as the Beneful line for dogs. The pet care segment's growth helped the company achieve overall sales in the Americas of CHF20.9 billion (US$31.1 billion), with organic growth of 5.5 percent.

As a whole, for the first nine months of 2012, Nestlé reported 6.1 percent organic growth and 2.9 percent real internal growth, with sales up 11 percent to CHF67.6 billion (US$72.5 billion). The company expects organic growth of 5 percent to 6 percent for the full year.