Irish food manufacturer Kerry Group said it is taking a “harder look” at expanding in the emerging markets.
Speaking on the firm’s earnings conference this morning (31 August), chief executive Stan McCarthy told analysts that Kerry has to keep investing in the business and that acquisitions will always be a part of the firm’s strategy.
Go deeper with GlobalData
“We’re obviously getting very strong growth in Asia and South America, but we have to explore other geographies as well,” McCarthy said. “I can’t emphasise enough the importance of these global alliances in terms of dealing with the complexities of global footprint, global geography and global markets.”
While McCarthy told analysts that the group would consider acquisitions to grow its core brands in the UK, the CEO said its focus is on expanding in Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
“The whole concept of emerging markets lends to our technologies and certainly provides avenues for growth,” McCarthy said. “It is quite possible that there will be a large number of acquisitions in the developing markets before the end of the year. A little bit early to say, but the question is consistent with the sentiment of our thinking and that we want to invest in those emerging markets.”
He added: “They are the markets that are growing fastest and driving opportunities. What is really driving that growth is GDP but also urbanisation growth and we have to think of that in the context of our business and our offerings, and certainly in terms of our customers.”
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataKerry Group delivered “strong” growth in the first half of the year.
For the six months to the end of June, trading profit increased 12.9% to EUR204m (US$258.6m), while group sales revenue climbed 2.7% on a like-for-like basis to EUR2.4bn.
Kerry Group shares climbed 3.57% to EUR25.48 at 12.30pm BST today.
