FDBusiness.com

Kerry Group, a world leader in the development and supply of taste and nutrition technologies and systems, and a significant player in consumer foods, has reported a 0.3% rise in revenue to €3.04 billion for the first half of 2016, reflecting good volume growth offset by significant currency movements and lower pricing relative to the first half of 2015. Business volumes grew by 3.2% in the period as a result of a strong performance in American markets, lower volume growth in the EMEA region in particular in regional developing markets, and strong business growth momentum in Asia. Group trading profit increased by 7.4% to €322 million and the trading profit margin improved by 70 basis points to 10.6%.

Kerry Group’s Taste & Nutrition business reported revenue growth of 2.6% to €2.4 billion. Trading profit grew by 7.9% to €304 million reflecting a 70 basis points increase in divisional trading margin to 12.8%.

The Consumer Foods business reported a 7.0% decrease in to €697 million. The underlying trading profit improvement was more than offset by the business disposals and adverse currency movement resulting in a trading profit decrease of 3.7% to €58 million. The divisional trading margin rose by 30 basis points to 8.3%.

Stan McCarthy, chief executive of Kerry Group, says: “Despite the challenging market landscape we delivered a solid financial performance in the first half of 2016, with continued margin expansion, strong cash generation and a 7.5% increase in adjusted earnings per share. While we are confident of delivering an underlying trading performance in the full year as previously guided; taking into account the increased currency headwinds of 5% at current exchange rates, growth in adjusted earnings per share in 2016 is expected to be towards the middle to lower end of the 6% to 10% range of 320 to 332 cent per share.”