According to The Business Post, Kerry Group, the producer of brands such as Denny and Charleville, reported double-digit profit growth for 2021 as the global economy continues to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The group reported a 10 percent rise in trading profits, totalling €876 million for 2021, with trading margins widening slightly to 11.9 percent.
Kerry Group 2021 Performance
Overall, Kerry Group reported full year sales of just under €7.4 billion for 2021, which was up 6 percent from the previous year.
The company is forecasting that the coming 12 months will be another year of growth and is targeting adjusted earnings growth of 5 to 9 percent for 2022.
Earnings (Ebitda) for the year grew by 8 percent to just over €1 billion, as earnings margins increased to just under 15 percent.
On the back of the profit growth, Kerry said it will increase its full year dividend by 10 percent to 95.2c per share.
“We ended the year on a strong note with excellent growth across our business. In the Taste & Nutrition retail channel we continued to deliver strong growth, while we achieved excellent growth in food service with business volumes in all regions above 2019 levels in the fourth quarter. This growth was well spread across our end use markets,” said Edmond Scanlon, chief executive, Kerry Group.
Acquisitions
Kerry Group paid a multiple of 15.4 times earnings for the US company, which is expected to generate sales of $220 million this year and Ebitda of $66 million.
The business has earnings margins in the region of 30 percent.
The heavy spend on acquisitions was partially funded by Kerry’s decision to sell its consumer meats and ready meals business to Pilgrim’s Pride, a US meat company, for €819 million.
As a result, the company’s net debt only increased marginally last year to just over €2.1 billion, while the group remains modestly borrowed with a debt to earnings multiple of 2 times.
© 2022 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Conor Farrelly. Click sign up to subscribe to Checkout.
