Ingredients and flavours business drives Kerry's growth

By CnAgri2013-11-07 11:41:08 Print

Kerry Group has announced that it achieved a good business performance in the three month period to 30 September 2013 and continued to invest in enhancing the quality of Group businesses.

Continuing business volumes increased by 2.9% - slightly higher at 3.2% for the third quarter, driven by a 4.1% increase in its ingredients and flavours business. Consumer foods volumes shrank slightly, declining by 0.2%. Margins were up 80 basis points, and Kerry said that it expects earnings to grow by between 8% and 10% for the full year.

This performance was achieved against a background of significant currency headwinds and a challenging overall market environment in developed markets, Kerry said. Despite weaker economic conditions in some developing markets, Kerry noted that it continued to achieve solid growth and business development ?§C particularly in Asia and EMEA developing zones.

Performance was assisted by successful integration of acquisitions and good results to date from continuing deployment of the Group's 1 Kerry Business Transformation Programme, according to the company, while development of the Group's Global Technology & Innovation Centres supported by Regional Development & Applications Centres, continues to drive successful product innovation and partnerships with key accounts enabling the Group's ingredients and flavours taste and nutrition systems and functional ingredients and actives businesses to outperform market growth rates.

The Group's consumer foods' sectors in the UK and Ireland were said to remain highly competitive where Kerry Foods continues to focus its business model on its core offerings and on strategies to improve the quality of its business portfolio.