The manufacturer said this was well ahead of end market growth, reflecting “strong end market outperformance” and further progression.
Growth was led by Kerry’s snacks, meat, dairy and beverage end markets. Foodservice was said to have delivered “strong” volume growth of 5% in the period, driven by new menu innovations and seasonal product launches. Growth in the retail channel was “supported by continued product renovation activity”, as well as innovation in high-growth areas across global, regional and local customers.
Europe results reflect growth across foodservice and retail
The Europe region experienced volume growth of 0.7%, with volume performance in the period reflecting growth across both foodservice and retail channels.
Snacks in particular were said to have delivered “good growth”, while performance in the meals and bakery categories reflected “challenged” category volumes.
“Growth in the period was led by good innovation activity in the foodservice channel and continued product renovation activity in the retail channel.”
Commenting on the results, Edmond Scanlon, chief executive officer of Kerry, commented: “We are pleased to report a strong performance in the period, reflecting a further step-up in volume growth across all three regions in the third quarter, combined with continued strong margin expansion. The volume growth achieved in the third quarter reflects very strong growth in the Americas, a further step-up in APMEA and good growth in Europe. Growth in the period was led by good innovation activity in the foodservice channel and continued product renovation activity in the retail channel.
“From a strategic perspective, we continued to develop our business, including further investment in our taste and biotechnology-enabled solutions capacity and capabilities across our regions. We made strong progress in our Accelerate 2.0 programme through continued footprint optimisation and digital excellence deployment. We recently held an investor day in Beloit, WI, where we provided further insight into our leading market positions and growth plans aligned to our newly announced 2030 targets.
“While macro and geopolitical uncertainty continue to impact market conditions, our strong end market outperformance highlights the strength and relevance of our strategic positioning across our markets, channels and customer base. Our inbuilt business resiliency positions us well through this period, and we remain strongly positioned for volume growth and margin expansion, underpinned by a good innovation and renovation pipeline.”
