Kerry Group guides for solid growth after decent 2021

16th Feb 2022 13:33

(Sharecast News) - Kerry Group reported revenue of €7.4bn (£6.21bn) in its preliminary results on Wednesday, up 8.3% year-on-year, which the company said reflected volume growth of 8.0%.

The London-listed firm said taste and nutrition volumes were 8.3% higher for the 12 months ended 31 December, and were ahead 7.2% in the fourth quarter, while consumer foods volumes were up 6% for the year and 7.1% in the final three months.

Pricing was 1.2% higher for 2021, the company reported.

Group EBITDA totalled €1.1bn, up from €1bn, representing an EBITDA margin of 14.7%, improving from 14.4% year-on-year.

Kerry Group said its trading margin rose by 40 basis points to 11.9%.

Its adjusted earnings per share totalled 380.8 euro cents, up 12.1% on a constant currency basis, while basic earnings per share were 430.6 cents, rising from 313 cents.

Free cash flow totalled €566m, reflecting cash conversion of 84%.

The board declared a final dividend of 66.7 cents per share, taking the total dividend for 2021 up 10.1% year-on-year, to 95.2 cents.

It also issued guidance for 2022 adjusted earnings per share of 5% to 9% growth, on a constant currency basis.

"We ended the year on a strong note with excellent growth across our business," said chief executive officer Edmond Scanlon.

"The year was important for Kerry from a strategic perspective.

"We continued to enhance our position as a market-leading taste and nutrition company with a number of strategic portfolio developments, while further enhancing our local footprint to support our growth ambitions, which we outlined as part of our strategic update at the capital markets day in October."

Scanlon said that, while recognising that the current market environment and inflationary pressures were presenting challenges across the industry, Kerry was "stronger-positioned and more resilient than ever" as its entered a new strategic cycle.

"Our earnings guidance range for 2022 reflects the group's strong growth prospects and the net effect of recent portfolio developments."

At 1311 GMT, shares in Kerry Group were up 2% in London at €109.80.