Trading profit margin in the Consumer Foods division of Ireland's Kerry Group fell by 10 basis points in the first quarter of its financial year, the group said, impacted by 'Brexit risk-mitigation costs'.
The division, which includes brands such as Denny and Cheestrings, saw a 0.8% increase in volumes in the quarter.
Pricing was down 0.3% due to lower raw material impact costs.
With regard to individual brand performance, Kerry said that its Richmond brand posted 'solid growth' in the quarter, while the performance of Cheestrings was 'complemented by a number of new listings at the end of the quarter'.
A recently-announced 'realignment for growth' programme, to reconfigure the group's consumer foods portfolio, is progressing according to plan, the group noted.
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Overall Performance
Business volume growth was 3.3% in the quarter, with its Taste & Nutrition business seeing a 3.8% increase in volumes for the quarter.
The division saw saw a 10 basis point increase in trading profit margins, driven mainly by 'enhanced product mix, operating leverage and efficiencies', the group said.
This performance, too, however, was offset somewhat by Brexit-related costs, it noted.
Solid Start
“We have made a solid start to the year with overall business performance in line with expectations," commented Edmond Scanlon, Kerry Group chief executive.
"The Group continued to deliver volume growth ahead of the market while expanding trading margin. We are pleased with our innovation pipeline and the continued enhancement of our product mix. [...] The recently announced acquisitions have performed very well and we are pleased with the progress made on their integration," he added.
Looking ahead to the rest of the year, Scanlon noted that the group is "encouraged" by its progress in the quarter, and "reaffirm our full year 2019 guidance of adjusted earnings per share growth of 6% to 10% in constant currency".
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Jana Zimmermann. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
