News
Kerry Group posts strong H1 revenue growth after price rises
Irish food manufacturer Kerry Group posted revenues of €4.1bn (£3.5bn) during the first half of 2023, an increase of 1.6% compared to the same period last year.
This was driven by a 0.6% increase in volumes group-wide, which included a 1.4% rise in volume for the taste and nutrition category. Meanwhile, group pricing went up by 4.5% in contrast to the first half of 2022.
Kerry is present in more than 50 countries around the world, with its global innovation centre located in Naas, Ireland.
Speaking on the results, chief executive Edmond Scanlon was pleased with the group’s performance despite what he described as “varying conditions across our markets”.
“Strong volume growth was achieved in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) and Europe led by our performance in the foodservice channel, while North America saw customers work through elevated inventory levels,” Scanlon said.
“We continue to see good levels of customer innovation activity, and our margins reached an inflection point in the second quarter.”
Recent acquisitions include Proexcar, which bolstered its position within the Latin American meat market, and Chinese tastings manufacturer Greatang.
Kerry completed the Greatang deal at the end of last month (July 2023), with the Shanghai-based firm offering a strategic partner within the local foodservice market.
“We also made good strategic progress, particularly in executing on our emerging markets strategy with significant acquisitions and investments across APMEA and LATAM,” Scanlon added.
“With Kerry’s strong local footprint and track record of growth across emerging markets, these complementary strategic developments will support our future growth ambitions. While recognising current market conditions, we remain strongly positioned for growth and reiterate our full year constant currency earnings guidance.”
In other news, UK-based meat producer Cranswick has revealed its results for the first quarter of the 2023/24 financial year.
