Kerry Group (LON:KYGA) executives told investors the company delivered “strong end market volume outperformance, margin expansion, and earnings per share growth” in full-year 2025, despite what management described as relatively subdued overall market volumes. On the company’s results call, CEO Edmond Scanlon highlighted 3% group volume growth, while CFO Marguerite Larkin detailed improved profitability, cash generation, and continued progress under Kerry’s Accelerate cost and footprint programs.
Full-year performance: volume outperformance and margin gains
Scanlon said Kerry’s 3% volume growth in 2025 outpaced end markets, with strength led by the Americas and supported by foodservice innovation and customer renovation activity. He added that pricing was “pretty flat” for the year, with input costs turning deflationary in the fourth quarter.
Larkin reported constant-currency adjusted EPS growth of 7.5% in 2025 (and 3% in reported currency), noting results were stated after dilution from the prior year’s Kerry Dairy Ireland disposal. She also said return on capital employed was 10.6%, with underlying improvements partially offset by currency.
Innovation and investments highlighted across technologies and footprint
Management emphasized continued investment in technology and innovation. Scanlon pointed to the opening of a new biotechnology center in Leipzig, Germany, as well as product launches and technology advances across fermentation-derived taste solutions, sweet and salt reduction, and health ingredients. He also cited the launch of Kerry’s “Plenibiotic” postbiotic for digestive and skin health, an enzyme system intended to deliver more effective natural sweetness, and cocoa replacement systems designed to replicate cocoa taste using less raw material.
On manufacturing and customer access, Kerry said it expanded its APMEA manufacturing presence into Egypt and East Africa, increased capacity in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, and opened new customer innovation centers in Frankfurt, Indonesia, and Dubai.
Regional and channel performance: Americas leads, Europe soft, APMEA mixed
In the Americas, Kerry reported revenue of EUR 3.7 billion with volume growth of 3.8% for the year and 4.4% in Q4. EBITDA margins increased 60 basis points to 20.3%. Scanlon said North America growth was led by snacks, with contributions from dairy and bakery, and that foodservice grew despite “soft traffic in places.” In LATAM, he cited strong growth in Brazil and Central America, particularly in snacks and meals. The company also invested to enhance coffee taste extraction capabilities in Pennsylvania.
In Europe, management said a soft finish to the year left volumes “slightly back” in 2025. Revenue was EUR 1.4 billion, while EBITDA margins increased 90 basis points. During Q&A, Scanlon attributed the Q4 volume step-down primarily to foodservice weakness late in the year, linked to year-on-year comparisons in seasonal products and limited-time offerings (LTOs), along with traffic. He said Kerry expects Europe to return to growth in 2026, with improvement “over the course of the year” and “slightly second half weighted.”
In APMEA, Kerry reported revenue of EUR 1.6 billion and volume growth of 4.2%, with EBITDA margin expansion of 70 basis points. Scanlon said growth was driven by Southeast Asia, with solid performance in the Middle East and Africa, while volumes in China remained challenged. Later, he said he expects 2026 to show “progression” in China, citing customer focus on export markets and increased consumer and regulatory emphasis on “clean label” and “three lows” (low salt, low sugar, low saturated fat).
By channel, management said foodservice volume growth was 4.6% for the year, supported by innovation, new menu items, and seasonal launches. Scanlon told analysts that Q4 foodservice benefited from elevated launch activity, strong LTO performance, and increased customer promotion activity, while cautioning he did not expect every quarter to match Q4’s pace. He nevertheless said Kerry expects foodservice to continue to outperform retail in 2026.
Cash flow, balance sheet, and capital returns
Larkin said Kerry generated EUR 643 million in free cash flow, representing 81% cash conversion. She noted working capital increased, driven in part by lower trade payables tied to sourcing decisions related to tariff mitigation and procurement initiatives, as well as timing factors. In Q&A, she said working capital days ended 2025 at about 41 days, compared with an “exceptionally low” 29 days at the end of 2024, and that the company expects working capital days to move back to roughly 35 to 40 days in 2026 with cash conversion of “80%+.”
Net debt was EUR 2.2 billion, with a weighted average maturity of 6.5 years and “no significant repayments until 2029,” according to Larkin. She said net debt to EBITDA was 1.9x.
Capital returns included EUR 500 million of share buybacks and EUR 215 million of dividends paid in 2025. Larkin also announced a new EUR 300 million share buyback program.
Accelerate programs, 2026 guidance, and governance update
Management said Kerry completed its Accelerate Operational Excellence program in 2025, delivering recurring annual benefits “ahead of projections,” and initiated Accelerate 2.0, which runs to 2028 and is expected to deliver projected recurring annual savings of around EUR 100 million by 2028 at a total net cost of around EUR 140 million. Larkin said the company reduced its manufacturing footprint to 119 facilities at the end of 2025 from 124 a year earlier. She also outlined digital initiatives including expanded decision intelligence using “Agentic AI,” more robotic process automation in global business services, and connected-plant tools such as predictive maintenance and digital manufacturing twins.
For 2026, Kerry guided to constant-currency adjusted EPS growth of 6% to 10%. Larkin said the company expects “limited overall deflation” in input costs in 2026 and “consequently” limited deflationary pricing. She also said Kerry expects disposal revenues of around EUR 60 million (less than 1% of revenues) from footprint-related divestments, with “limited further business disposals” currently planned in connection with optimization. On margins, she said Kerry is targeting “another year of good margin expansion of 60 basis points or greater” in 2026, driven primarily by Accelerate 2.0, and expects about EUR 50 million of costs in 2026 related to Accelerate 2.0.
Separately, Scanlon noted board chair Tom Moran will retire following the company’s AGM, and that Fiona Dawson has been named chair designate.
About Kerry Group (LON:KYGA)
Kerry Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides taste and nutrition solutions. The company operates in two segments, Taste & Nutrition, and Dairy Ireland. The Taste & Nutrition segment offers taste and nutrition solutions for the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical markets. The Dairy Ireland segment provides value-add dairy ingredients and consumer products, including functional proteins and nutritional bases. It operates in Ireland, rest of Europe, the Americas, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.
