EARNINGS : Nestle Earnings Down 4.7%

VEVEY, Switzerland —  Nestle SA, the world’s largest food company, today forecast lower profits for 1990 due to the strong Swiss franc and the Persian Gulf crisis but said it was confident about next year’s prospects.

Nestle posted earnings of $780 million in the first six months of this year, down 4.7% from a year ago.

In 1989, the company earned consolidated profits of $1.93 billion on sales of $38.43 billion.

Chief executive Helmut Maucher said at the beginning of the year that Nestle had expected 1990 sales to exceed $40 billion and profits to at least match 1989 levels.