Irish ingredients giant Kerry Group closed its 2021 financial year with sales of €7.4 billion and volume growth of 8.0%.
Group EBITDA amounted to €1.1 billion over the period, reflecting an EBITDA margin of 14.7%.
The Group’s trading profit increased by 9.8% to €875.5 million, representing growth of 40 basis points in the current operating margin.
This was driven by the recovery of operating leverage, portfolio composition and the net contribution from acquisitions and divestitures, partially offset by pricing, supply chain costs and KerryExcel investments. noted the company.
The company’s net capital expenditure was €315 million, while research and development expenditure was €297 million, as it continued to invest in taste, nutrition and emerging markets.
“Excellent growth across our business”
Edmond Scanlon, Managing Director of Kerry Group, said: “We ended the year on a high note with excellent growth across our businesses. […] The year was important for Kerry from a strategic point of view. We continued to strengthen our position as a market-leading taste and nutrition company with a number of strategic portfolio developments, while strengthening our local footprint to support our growth ambitions. »
The company’s taste and nutrition unit saw volumes increase 8.3% during the year, while the consumer foods division saw a 6% increase in volumes.
Revenue from the taste and nutrition business rose 9.0% to €6.3 billion over the year.
Consumer food saw its published sales fall by 10.5% over the year to 1.1 billion euros.
Scanlon commented: “In the flavor and nutrition retail channel, we continued to generate strong growth, while we achieved excellent growth in foodservice with business volumes in all regions exceeding 2019 levels in the fourth quarter.
“This growth has been well distributed across our end-use markets, with beverages, bakery and meat performing particularly strongly.”
Outlook for the coming year
The company said it was confident in its ability to handle increased inflation in the industry through its pricing model and cost initiatives.
It forecasts 5% to 9% growth in adjusted earnings per share in 2022 at constant exchange rates.
Scanlon said, “While recognizing that the current market environment and inflationary pressures continue to present challenges to our industry, Kerry is better positioned and more resilient than ever as we enter a new strategic cycle.
“Our earnings guidance range for 2022 reflects the Group’s strong growth prospects and the net effect of recent portfolio developments.”
Read more: Kerry Group sees volumes rise 6.6% in Q3, citing ‘good growth’ in retail
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