Kerry boss optimistic on China move
The global food company, which now has manufacturing facilities in 20 countries, is building a multi-processing plant and technical centre on a 16-acre site located in a 100-square mile industrial zone, outside Hangzhou in the south.
“We will be transferring technology from elsewhere to China. Many of our major international customers for ingredients have established bases in China and we will be focusing on the nutritional, dairy, flavoured noodle, brewing, flavoured beverage, snack and bakery market segments,” he said.
Last year, Kerry’s turnover exceeded €4bn for the first time, an increase of almost 12%, and profits amounted to €349m. Addressing more than 200 shareholders at the group’s annual general meeting in Tralee yesterday, Mr Friel said trading so far this year was satisfactory and he expected a good outcome for the full year.
He said continuing capital expenditure programmes would bring about further improvements in efficiencies.
Mr Friel maintained the group was keeping pace with changing food tastes in the market, stressing that convenience, diet, lifestyle, health and nutrition were critical issues.
“The Kerry model continues to depend very highly on changes taking place out there. I’m optimistic about emerging, newer markets. But we must take a longer-term view in some of these markets and it could take three to five years before we hit decent returns in them,” he said.
A state-of-the-art nutrition centre is being provided at Almere in Holland, where nutrition experts from the group worldwide will be based. The centre will support all of the group’s businesses globally.
Reporting outstanding growth in some products, Mr Friel said cheese strings, for instance, were very strong in the British market and were now going into the French market, which he described as a lion’s den.
Replying to questions from the floor about the group’s controversial liquid milk business, he said the group intended staying in the business, but it had to make absolutely certain it maintained its market share. Milk from the North now has 20% of the retail market and is continuing to grow its share. In some supermarkets, it is being sold at almost the half the price of milk produced in the South.
