Irish food and ingredients firm Kerry Group has reported a ‘strong recovery’ in business performance in the third quarter of its financial year.
Despite an overall decline in business volumes, the company saw recovery across its various divisions.
Chief executive of Kerry Group, Edmond Scanlon, said, “This year has seen unprecedented variability and complexity across our industry.
"The agility and ingenuity of Kerry’s teams in adapting to these changing conditions have contributed to Kerry’s strong recovery in the third quarter, which was in line with previous guidance."
Divisional Performance
The consumer foods division reported overall underlying volume growth of 1.4% in the third quarter.
The Richmond sausage range recently launched a meat-free offering under the Richmond and Naked Glory brands, which continued to achieve strong growth, the company said.
Elsewhere, Kerry Group’s taste and nutrition division saw an overall year-to-date volume reduction of 4.4%.
However, the decline in volume recovered from -11.8% in the second quarter to -1.9% in the third quarter.
Scanlon added, “In the foodservice channel, we have seen a strong recovery since April, as restaurants reopened and adapted their operations and menus to cater to increased consumer demand for takeaway, online and delivery.
“Performance in the retail channel remained strong, primarily through growth in authentic cooking, plant-based offerings and health and wellness products.”
Regional Performance
In Europe, the company reported significant improvement in business volumes in the third quarter.
Foodservice saw a strong broad-based recovery across the region, while the retail channel delivered good growth in beverage, snacks and meat segments.
In the Americas, the company saw business volumes recover with improved performance in the foodservice channel and strong growth across retail driven by beverage, meals and dairy categories.
Business volumes returned to growth in the APMEA region in the third quarter as foodservice continued to recover and the retail channel reported excellent growth driven by snacks and dairy products.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
