Exceptional charges hit Kerry

They reflected restructuring, losses on disposed businesses, including Kerry's liquid milk operations, and impairment costs on food businesses earmarked for sale this year. Strip these out, however, and the picture looks more appetising. Underlying pre-tax profit rose 9 per cent to €532m, helped by a 90 basis point margin improvement and a 4.6 per cent rise in underlying sales. Volumes grew 3 per cent, too.

The strongest trading came from Kerry's ingredients business, where trading profit surged 10 per cent to €558m (81 per cent of the group total). Star categories included beverage systems and pharma/functional ingredients, while new businesses acquired in 2012 such as Millennium Foods performed well. Kerry is also enjoying rising demand for its high-tech solutions, that make foods more nutritious. The consumer foods division, though, continued to suffer in a weak retail environment in the UK and Ireland. Trading profit here fell 2.9 per cent to €129m and management has started a major review of the portfolio, placing a number of underperforming businesses up for sale.

Broker Goodbody expects adjusted EPS of 278¢ for 2014 (from 258¢ in 2013).