Kerry Group dismisses talk of selling its consumer foods branch

Kerry Group has dismissed speculation it might sell its consumer food arm by saying it remains “very, very committed” to it and still sees further growth opportunities arising from the division.

The Tralee-based food and nutrition group yesterday said it expects to see “good revenue growth” and between a 5% and 9% rise in adjusted group earnings per share this year.

That guidance came on the back of a strong set of full-year figures for 2016, which showed a 7.1% rise in trading profit to €750m and group revenue of €6.1bn, which reflected 3.6% business volume growth, exceeding market expectations.