Kerry Group has booked a drop in net earnings for 2013 despite posting a near 10% increase in trading profit.
In the 12 months to end-December, net profit plummeted to EUR84.4m (US$116m), compared to EUR260.7m in 2012. The bottom line was hit by a number of “trading items”, which reduced net profit by EUR352.2m. These one-time costs included costs related to Kerry’s acquisition and restructuring programme, integration costs and supply chain costs.
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The company did, however, grow trading profit from EUR559m in 2012 to EUR611.4m. The Irish consumer foods and ingredients business said that operating profit was boosted by a reduction in costs and a focus on value added products that generate higher returns.
Kerry has targeted higher revenue in the growth areas of “targeted nutrition, taste and developing market platforms”, chief executive Stan McCarthy commented. Total sales were down 0.2% to EUR5.83bn from EUR5.84bn but organic sales were up 4.6%.
