Harnessing consumers' desire for healthier food and beverage products is mightily important for food producers, and Kerry (KYGA) seems to be serving up the goods. The group's taste and nutrition division - which accounts for two-thirds of turnover - saw trading profit rise 12 per cent to €663m (£519m) thanks to innovations in areas such as natural products and its 'free-from' range, which exclude ingredients on dietary grounds. The division's net pricing was 2.3 per cent lower, but management said raw material costs were 4.5 per cent lower for the group.
Trading in the Americas - its largest geographic region in terms of turnover - was helped by acquisitions made throughout the year. The US-focused KFI Savoury and Wynnstar Flavors helped performance, while other purchases fuelled growth in the Brazilian food service sector. Management said its December purchase of Wisconsin-based Red Arrow Products would "significantly" strengthen its stronghold on the taste technology and savoury flavour industry.
Revenues in the Europe, Middle East and Asia region were broadly flat due to deflationary pressures on the continent and "geopolitical instability" in developing markets. But management said the establishment of its global technology and innovation centre in Ireland had increased customer engagement and new product ideas.
Analysts at Davy Stockbrokers expect basic EPS of 312¢ in 2016, rising to 340¢ in 2017.
| KERRY (KYGA) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 7,450¢ | MARKET VALUE: | €13.1bn | |
| TOUCH: | 7,468-7,450¢ | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 7,770¢ | LOW: 6,166¢ |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.67% | PE RATIO: | 25 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 1,586¢* | NET DEBT: | 65% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (€bn) | Pre-tax profit (€m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 5.30 | 433 | 206 | 32.2 |
| 2012 | 5.85 | 316 | 148 | 35.8 |
| 2013 | 5.84 | 122 | 48 | 40.0 |
| 2014 | 5.76 | 556 | 273 | 45.0 |
| 2015 | 6.10 | 603 | 299 | 50.0 |
| % change | +6 | +8 | +9 | +11 |
Ex-div: 14 Apr Payment: 13 May *Includes intangible assets of €3.45bn, or 1,961¢ a share | ||||
