Pandemic hits Kerry Group’s profits hard

THE Covid-19 crisis has led to a drop of 17.5 per cent in Kerry Group’s trading profits so far this year.

In an interim report that was published on Friday, the Tralee headquartered global food and ingredients said pandemic lockdown measures had caused a significant drop in group profits for the first six months of the year.

Kerry Group reported trading profits of €316 million in the first half of the year a decline of €67 million on the same period in 2019.

The Group said this was “primarily due to the significant operating deleverage impact resulting from the sharp decline in food service orders once lock-down measures were introduced globally”.

Overall revenues were also down but by a considerably smaller margin than its trading profits. Revenues of €3.4 billion were reported, down 4.3 per on 2019.

Kerry Group chief executive Edmond Scanlon said the Covid pandemic had made the first half of 2020 a challenging time for the multinational

“The first half of 2020 has been an unprecedented period due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and I am immensely proud of the tremendous efforts of our people in supporting our customers and local communities throughout this period, aligned to our purpose to inspire food and nourish life,” he said.

Mr Scanlon said the group had made “good progress” on a number of fronts despite the challenge and he expressed confidence for the future.

“We will emerge a stronger organisation, as this period of uncertainty continues to enhance Kerry’s role as our customers’ most valued partner.”

Despite the challenging period shareholders will still enjoy a dividend of 25.9 cents per share, an increase on the 23.5 cents per share the group paid last year. This is die to be paid out on November 13.