Revenue at Kerry Group fell slightly last year as volume growth of 3.3 per cent was partly offset by falling prices.
The group said revenue totalled €7.98 billion for the year, down 0.5 per cent on the €8.02 billion it recorded in 2023, with an overall pricing reduction of 1.9 per cent and foreign currency movements contributing to the decline.
Kerry continued to see growth in volumes in its taste and nutrition business, with a 3.4 per cent increase, led by its performance in the Americas. The Asia Pacific and Middle East region also put in a good performance, while Europe showed some growth during the year. Reported revenue was €6.93 billion.
Revenue in the Dairy Ireland unit increased in the year to €1.32 billion, with volume growth of 1.6 per cent.
A mid-career life change: How I left my salaried job and struck out on my own
Irish entrepreneur aims to disrupt painkiller market and build multibillion-dollar business
Aircoach loses its airport advantage
Working from home is here to stay and has whole new language about ‘hidden hybrid’ and ‘mouse jiggling’
Acquisitions and disposals also had an impact on the business, with revenue from continuing operations for the year largely static at €6.92 billion.
Group earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and a amortisation were up 7.4 per cent to €1.25 million, with those earnings from continuing operations rising to €1.19 billion from €1.11 billion a year earlier.
Net finance costs for the year were €54 million, with the interest due on €1 billion in senior notes issued in September 2024 offset by increased deposit interest earned on cash.
The group paid an effective tax rate of 14.1 per cent for the year, reflecting the impact of deferred assets.
During the year, the group incurred a non-trading charge of €16 million as a €44 million charge from continuing operations was offset by a credit from discontinued operations of €28 million, related to the divestment of the company’s share in the Dairy Ireland share.
Net debt at the end of the year was €1.9 billion, up from €1.6 billion in 2023 as strong business cash generation during the year was offset by spending on acquisitions and Kerry’s share buyback programme. The group launched a €300 million programme in November 2023, and approved two further programmes during 2024 of €300 million each. In total it spent €556.5 million on buying back shares during 2024.
The group had undrawn committed facilities at the end of the year of €1.5 billion, with undrawn standby facilities of €344 million
The group paid an interim dividend of 38.1 cent per A ordinary share, up 10.1 per cent on 2023, and has proposed a final dividend of 89.0 cent per A ordinary share. That brings the total to 127.1 cent per share, up from 115.4 cent per share in the previous year.
Looking ahead, the company said it remained well positioned for strong market outperformance, and would continue to evolve strategically.
“We continued to strategically evolve our portfolio, including further developing our Biotechnology Solutions capability and the significant divestment of Kerry Dairy Ireland, which resulted in Kerry becoming a pure-play taste and nutrition company,” said chief executive Edmond Scanlon.
“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 per cent to 11 per cent, after the dilution from the Kerry Dairy Ireland disposal.”
