Kerry mulls more acquisitions as profits soar 66% to €195m

Kerry Group expects to make further acquisitions in the second half of the year and is continuing to review its UK consumer foods division, which could result in non-core asset disposals.

The Tralee-headquartered food and ingredients group said yesterday that it remained confident of meeting its previously-stated full-year targets of 6%-10% in adjusted earnings per share growth, despite seeing “significant headwinds” in the first half of the year.

The group’s half-year results — covering the six months to the end of June — yesterday showed broadly flat group revenues for the period, at just under €2.9bn. However, trading profit was up by 3%, on a year-on-year basis, at €274.7m and first-half post-tax profit soared by almost 66% to €194.7m.