Kerry Group has said it now expects to deliver in excess of 10% growth over the next five years.

The 10% adjusted earnings per share growth target is on a constant currency basis and on average per annum over the next five-year cycle. This is raised from the 3% to 7% growth outlook Kerry announced at the interim results in August.

The announcement on Wednesday morning came from the ingredients and flavours group at a Capital Markets presentation being held today. Kerry also confirmed the acquisition of Ganeden, a US-based technology company focused on probiotics.

Newly appointed chief executive Edmond Scanlon said the growth will be delivered by achieving above average volume growth and margin expansion.

Growth targets

He expects the group to achieve 3% to 5% annual volume growth. The ingredients business is targeting 4% to 6% growth while consumer foods is targeting 2% to 3% growth.

He outlined that the group expects to grow margins in the ingredients business by 40 basis points per annum.

Meanwhile, margin in consumer foods is targeted to grow by 20 basis points per annum.

Overall, this is expected to contribute a 30 basis points group margin improvement per annum on average across the five-year cycle.

Confident

Scanlon added that he was confident Kerry can deliver continued organic growth across developed and developing markets as planned.

He said the group’s strong balance sheet places Kerry in a strong position to further consolidation in the industry. He said this would scale the business and increase the geographic footprint.

Kerry Group shares closed at €82.68 on Tuesday and hit an all-time high of €84.63 for a time on Monday.

Read more

Over 560 apply to Kerry’s fixed milk price scheme

Kerry Group’s Listowel plant shuts for 24 hours over pay dispute