Kerry plc’s interim management statement for the first quarter of this year showed a good performance on the top line, with organic growth across the group at 8.5%.

That growth was almost exclusively driven by pricing, with volumes only rising 0.2%, a reflection of the global inflationary environment that persisted in the period.

That mismatch between price and volume was even more pronounced in the Dairy Ireland division, where pricing jumped 14.4% while volumes dropped 5.8%. Kerry said the higher input costs caused a tightening of margins of 80bps.

Kerry said the dairy ingredients business saw its volumes hit by higher prices and customer expectations of inflation turning to deflation “given global market supply and demand dynamics across the first quarter”.

The group’s forecast for adjusted earnings per share growth in 2023 is amended to 1% to 5% from the 3% to 7% range given at the announcement of its annual results in February.

This is due to a 2% dilution following the disposal of the Sweet Ingredient Portfolio, which closed in March.

Chief executive officer Edmond Scanlon said: “While recognising the current market uncertainty, we believe we remain strongly positioned for growth.”