Kerry chief gets 96.7% pay hike

KERRY Group’s executive directors enjoyed remuneration increases of 15% to 18% on the back of a strong year’s performance the annual report, posted out to shareholders yesterday, reveals.

There was one exception. Gerry Behan, president and chief executive of Kerry Ingredients and Flavours for the Americas region, saw his pay package jump 96.7% from €575,000 to €1.131m. Mr Behan’s remuneration featured a €603,000 performance-related payment on top of his basic salary of €465,000 plus BIK and pension.

This overall payment reflected the group’s exceptional performance in the Americas region. The group’s ingredients and flavours businesses saw trading profit grow by 4.9% to €340m, with a 90 basis points improvement in trading profit margin to 10.4%.