Irish food ingredients and flavours company Kerry Group has reported revenue growth of 10.3 per cent for the year to 31 December 2012, totaling €5.8 billion, with like-for-like growth of 1.7 per cent.
Its Consumer Foods division grew by 2.3 per cent to €1.71 billion, although like-for-like sales dropped 1.5 per cent. The company said that its Consumer Foods performance in Ireland and the UK remain 'challenged' due to a high level of promotional activity and raw material inflation.
'Performance in the Irish meat category was impacted by intense price and promotional activity through private label offerings in the multiple retail and discounter channels,' it said. 'However, Kerry Foods saw some improvement in sausage, rasher and spreads brand shares in Ireland in the last quarter of the year. The ‘direct-to-store’ service to the independent retail trade in Ireland and the UK continues to be impacted by the level of promotional activity in the multiple retail sector.'
It cited successes with its Denny 100% Natural Ingredients Ham, which it said brought 'significant innovation' to the sliced meats market. The 'Butter It With Dairygold' campaign was also cited as a successful rollout for the Group during the period.
The bulk of Kerry's was found in its Ingredients & Flavours division, which has grown by 14 per cent, driven by strong performances in the Americas and Asia-Pacific.
“We are pleased to report a strong Groupwide performance in 2012 and 11.3 per cent growth in adjusted earnings per share," said Kerry Group Chief Executive Stan McCarthy. "Our 1 Kerry Business Transformation Programme is well underway, which through exploiting the technologies and expertise of the organisation will drive our future growth. We continue to invest in our technologies, innovation and nutritional expertise, and also in expanding our footprint throughout developing markets. In 2013 we expect to achieve 7 per cent to 11 per cent growth in adjusted earnings per share.” (26 Feb)
© 2013 - ESM: European Supermarket Magazine
