It was a positive first half of the year for Kerry group, as revenue increased 4.9% to €3.6bn on a volume increase of 9% and trading profit was up 13% to €357m between January and June 2021, compared with last year.

Group trading profit margin increased by 70bps to 10%, primarily due to the recovery of operating leverage given the impact of COVID-19 in the prior year.

Constant currency adjusted earnings per share increased by 24.1% to 152c (H1 2020: 19.8%).

Basic earnings per share increased to 128.2c (H1 2020: 120.4c).

The interim dividend of 28.5c per share is a 10% increase on the previous year interim dividend and the group achieved free cash flow of €222m (H1 2020: €107m), which is a case conversion of 83% in the period.

Kerry disposed of its Consumer Foods’ Meats and Meals business to Pilgrim’s Pride for €819m and acquired Niacet, a global market leader in technologies for food protection and preservation, for €853m, along with a number of smaller acquisitions.