25% sales hike at Kerry Group

SATISFACTION with a year of solid performance was tinged with emotion at the imminent departure of chairman Denis Brosnan, who was accorded a standing ovation, at the annual general meeting of Kerry Group plc, in Tralee, yesterday.

Mr Brosnan, who spearheaded the growth of the group from humble beginnings in Listowel, in 1972, to a top global food company, said he would “slip away quietly” in a few months.

The meeting was a tame affair, attended by more than 200 shareholders, who were told that sales rose by 25% to €3.8 billion and operating profits by 17% to €305 million.