Kerry Group Shows Resilience
Kerry Group, the global taste & nutrition and consumer foods business, has reported a 4.3% decrease in revenue to €3.4 billion for the first half ended 30 June 2020, versus the same period last year, reflecting a volume reduction of 6.0%, increased pricing of 0.4%, contribution from acquisitions of 1.2%, and a favourable translation currency impact of 0.1%. Trading profit at €316 million was down from the €383 million achieved in the first half of 2019, as trading profit margin decreasing by 140bps to 9.3%, primarily due to the significant operating deleverage impact resulting from the sharp decline in foodservice orders once lockdown measures were introduced globally, with additional COVID-19 related costs being partially offset by cost mitigation actions.
Edmond Scanlon, chief executive of Kerry Group, comments: “The first half of 2020 has been an unprecedented period due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and I am immensely proud of the tremendous efforts of our people in supporting our customers and local communities throughout this period, aligned to our purpose to Inspire Food and Nourish Life.
Edmond Scanlon, chief executive of Kerry Group.
“We had a strong start to the year, prior to restrictions on movement impacting business performance as we moved through the first quarter. As anticipated, we have seen a significant impact on our Taste & Nutrition business – particularly our foodservice channel, where the impact was most pronounced in April, with the channel recovering well since then. Performance in our retail channel improved in the second quarter, primarily through increased consumer demand for authentic cooking, plant-based offerings and health and wellness products.”
He adds: “In spite of the challenges arising from COVID-19, we continued to make good progress on a number of fronts aligned to our key strategic priorities. Our global operations and supply chain continue to demonstrate resilience and engagement with our customers has been overwhelmingly positive, which gives us confidence in the trajectory of business recovery. We will emerge a stronger organisation, as this period of uncertainty continues to enhance Kerry’s role as our customers’ most valued partner.”
