Kerry Group has reported year-on-year revenue growth of 13.3% to €4.1 billion in the first half of its financial year.
The group company’s EBITDA increased by 13.1% to €518 million, while EBITDA margin stood at 12.8%.
It was primarily driven by the benefits from operating leverage, mix, efficiencies and portfolio development, offset by the impact of passing through raw material cost inflation.
The company saw volume growth of 6.8% in this period, with the Taste & Nutrition division posting 8.6% increase and Dairy Ireland 1.2%.
Group pricing increased by 8.3% in the first half, with 10.4% increase in the second quarter alone.
'Inflationary Challenges'
Edmond Scanlon, chief executive of Kerry Group, commented, “We are pleased with our overall performance and business momentum across the first half of the year despite inflationary challenges and geopolitical volatility in places, in what remains a highly dynamic marketplace.
“Volume growth was very strong in both retail and foodservice channels, driven by an increased level of innovation activity. This growth was broad-based across our regions, led by excellent performances in Beverage, Meat and Bakery end use markets in particular.
Read More: Kerry Acquires German Biotechnology Company c-LEcta
Divisional Performance
The Taste & Nutrition division reported revenue growth of 27.5%, to €3.5 billion in the first half, driven by various factors, including, among others, volume growth, positive pricing and favourable foreign currency impact.
The company’s European business witnessed volume growth of 7.1% in the first half, with second quarter volumes increasing by 5.9%.
The company attributed this growth to increased consumption and innovation initiatives in the foodservice sector.
Reported revenue in the region increased by 27.5% to €729 million.
In the US, the division reported volume growth of 9.1%, led by good performance in the beverage, meat and bakery end use markets (EUMs).
Reported revenue in the Americas region increased by 29.1% to €1,934 million.
Dairy Ireland unit delivered what the company described as ‘solid overall volume growth’ amid a heightened inflationary cost environment, which resulted in significant price increases across the business.
The division posted overall volume growth of 2.2%, mainly driven by its Dairy Ingredients business.
Outlook
The company said it is strongly positioned for growth in a highly dynamic marketplace with a good innovation pipeline.
It is confident in its 'ability to continue to manage through the inflationary cycle with its well-established pricing model and cost initiatives'.
The company reaffirmed its full-year earnings guidance and expects to achieve adjusted earnings per share growth of 5% to 9% on a constant currency basis in 2022.
Kerry will continue to strategically evolve its portfolio and invest capital aligned to its strategic priorities and key growth platforms, the company added.
Read More: Kerry Group Opens Manufacturing Facility In KwaZulu-Natal
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest A-Brands news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
