Kerry reports sales in excess of €4 billion
The global ingredients, flavours and consumer foods group reported like for like sales grew by 4.2% year-on-year.
In 2004, sales across Kerry’s food ingredients businesses increased by 15.7% to €2.78 billion. When compared to 2003, this performance reflects like-for-like sales growth of 5%. Operating profits increased by 17.5% to €257m, representing a 9% increase on a like-for-like basis year-on-year. The operating margin increased by 10 basis points to 9.2%.
The Group’s 2004 food ingredients acquisition programme contributed €274m in sales and €23m operating profit. Significant progress was made during the year under review in advancing the Group’s food ingredients activities in existing and emerging markets.
In the Irish company’s biggest year as yet in terms of acquisitions, Quest Food Ingredients, Cremo Ingredients, Jana’s Classics, Ernsts Food Ingedients, Manheimer Fragrances, Flavurence, Laboratorios Krauss, Fructamine, Oregon Chai and Extreme Foods all went Kerry’s way. The market anticipates that the company will be set for major acquisition activity this year as well. Chr. Hansen (valued at about €1 billion) and Degussa Food Ingredients (valued at about €750 million) are both up for sale. Competition for both companies will be intense however, and Kerry has not been renowned for paying over the odds for companies in the past.
Meanwhile fellow Irish food company Glanbia is reportedly set to deliver turnover of €1.8bn, with the group due to deliver profits before tax of €77.6m. Glanbia is still moving through a transition period as it edges more towards the specialty protein market, following two years of losses.
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