Nestle SA
In millions
(except for data per share and employees)
2013 and 2014
	2013	2014
Results
Sales 92 158 91 612	CHF 92,158	CHF 91,612
Trading operating profit	14,047	14,019
as % of sales	15.24%	15.30%
Profit for the period attributable to shareholders of the parent (Net profit)	10015	14456
as % of sales	10.87%	15.78%
Balance sheet and Cash flow statement
Equity attributable to shareholders of the parent	62,575	70,130
Net financial debt	14,690	12,325
Ratio of net financial debt to equity (gearing)	23.48%	17.57%
Operating cash flow	14,992	14,700
as % of net financial debt	102.06%	119.27%
Free cash flow	10,486	14,137
Capital expenditure	4,928	3,914
as % of sales	5.35%	4.27%
Data per share
Weighted average number of shares outstanding (in millions of units)	3,191	3,188
Basic earnings per share	3.14	4.54
Dividend as proposed by the Board of Directors of Nestl S.A.	2.15	2.20
Market capitalisation, end December 31st	208,279	231,136
Number of employees (in thousands)	333	339
Retrieved from: https://www.nestle.com/asset-library/documents/library/documents/annual_reports/2014-annual-report-en.pdf
Referring (Fisher & Krumwiede, 2015), review the above financial information and answer the following questions
1. Did Nestle S.A.'s financial position improve or decline from 2013 to 2014?
2. Give at least three indications that support your answer in question #1.
3. Why do you think sales decreased from 2013 to 2014 and yet net profit increased?