The biggest challenges for global food giant Kerry (KRGA) came from its consumer goods division, which services the austerity-hit UK and Irish markets. Subdued consumer confidence and a highly competitive environment made trading difficult and, coupled with a rationalisation programme, led to a 6 per cent fall in revenue to €830m (£714m), leaving trading profit down 2 per cent at €64m.
By contrast, the ingredients division, which accounts for 73 per cent of total revenue, reported a 12 per cent rise in profit to €239m on sales of €2.2bn, up 4 per cent on last year. New business wins in the Americas helped revenue there grow 6 per cent to €931m, reflecting like-for-like sales growth of 4.5 per cent. Sales in the Asia Pacific region soared by 15 per cent to €394m, with an impressive 8.7 per cent rise in like-for-like sales, helped by strong volume growth in beverage and dairy systems. Trading was weaker in Europe, the Middle East and Africa - sales fell 3 per cent to €798m as the region was affected by economic and political factors.
Overall, this resulted in a 10 per cent rise in group trading profit to €267m, boosted by a 70 basis point uptick in the margin to 9 per cent, driven by margin improvement in both the ingredients and foods divisions.
Goodbody Stockbrokers expects full-year adjusted EPS of 256¢, rising to 280¢ in 2014 (from 234¢ in 2012).
| KERRY (KYGA) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | €46.55 | MARKET VALUE: | €8.2bn | |
| TOUCH: | €46.53-€46.57 | 12-MONTH HIGH: | €48.06 | LOW: €36.09 |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.8% | PE RATIO: | 30 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | €11.61* | NET DEBT: | 61% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (€bn) | Pre-tax profit (€m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 2.92 | 123 | 59.6 | 10.8 |
| 2013 | 2.95 | 137 | 66.8 | 12.0 |
| % change | +1 | +11 | +12 | +11 |
Ex-div: 16 Oct Payment: 15 Nov *Includes intangible assets of €2.47bn, or €14.03 a share £1=€1.16 | ||||
