Taste-and-nutrition firm Kerry Group has posted a 0.5% decline in reported revenue, to €7.98 billion, in its 2024 financial year.
The company saw volume growth of 3.3%, but was impacted by an overall pricing reduction of 1.9%, among other factors.
Group EBITDA increased by 7.4%, to €1.3 billion, while EBITDA margin increased by 120bps, to 15.7%, driven by benefits from the Accelerate Operational Excellence Programme, portfolio developments, operating leverage, product mix, and the net effect from pricing, the company noted.
Edmond Scanlon, chief executive officer of Kerry Group, stated, “We are pleased to report a strong performance across the year, with earnings-per-share growth of 9.7%, reflecting continued volume progression in Taste & Nutrition and strong margin expansion across the business.
“Volume growth was led by [a] strong performance in the Americas, through foodservice innovations and increased nutritional renovation across a broad range of customers, while APMEA delivered a good performance, given market conditions, and Europe progressed through the year.”
In November of last year, the company announced that it had entered into an agreement with Kerry Co-Operative Creameries to sell Kerry Dairy Ireland for €500 million.
Divisional Performance
Kerry Group’s Taste & Nutrition division achieved volume growth of 3.4, with revenue amounting to €6.9 billion.
This volume growth – led by the snack, beverage and bakery categories – outperformed the food and beverage end markets.
The foodservice segment achieved volume growth of 6.8%, supported by menu innovations, seasonal products, and solutions designed to reduce operational costs and simplify processes, while growth in the retail channel of 1.8% reflected good performances in the Americas and APMEA.
The company attributed its growth to innovations incorporating Kerry’s broad range of tastes and proactive health technologies.
Business volumes in emerging markets increased by 6.5%, with the Middle East, Africa, LATAM and South-East Asia witnessing good growth.
In the Americas region, reported revenue amounted to €3.8 billion, reflecting volume growth of 4.1% and an overall pricing reduction of 1.6%.
In the European region, reported revenue amounted to €1.5 billion, reflecting volume and pricing reductions of 0.1% and 3.5%, respectively.
Volume performance in the region improved throughout the year, with a return to growth in the second half, supported by a recovery in the retail channel.
Reported revenue in the APMEA region amounted to €1.7 billion, reflecting volume growth of 4.8% and an overall pricing reduction of 2.3%.
Dairy Ireland reported EBITDA of €63 million, with a margin expansion of 60bps in its 2024 financial year, driven by the performance of its Dairy Consumer Products segment, combined with recovery in Dairy Ingredients.
Outlook For 2025
Kerry Group noted that it is ‘well positioned’ for 2025 and will continue to evolve strategically and develop its taste-and-nutrition portfolio in areas where it can create the most value.
It expects to deliver good volume growth and strong margin expansion in FY 2025, despite uncertain market conditions.
Scanlon added, “As we look to 2025, Kerry remains strongly positioned for good market outperformance, due to our unique positioning with our customers as an innovation and renovation partner.
“We expect to deliver good volume growth and strong margin expansion, resulting in constant-currency adjusted earnings-per-share growth of 7% to 11%, after the dilution from the Kerry Dairy Ireland disposal.”
