FRANKFURT - Swiss food giant Nestle is targeting stable growth in sales volumes from the second quarter throughout the remainder of the year as cost inflation eases, its CEO told Swiss weekend paper "Schweiz am Wochenende" on Saturday.

"From the second quarter and for the rest of the year, we can expect a stable, positive contribution to growth from volume and product mix," Markus Schneider was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

The maker of Nespresso, KitKat and Perrier brands said in April that first-quarter sales declined 5.9%, but rose 1.4% when adjusted for currency swings. It forecast currency-adjusted 2024 sales growth of 4% at the time.

Schneider told the paper that the company was confident it had overcome challenges from cost inflation and lower sales volumes due to marked-up prices. "We now see a stabilization of the situation," he said.

(Reporting by Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich and Ludwig Burger; editing by Clelia Oziel)