Results from Kerry Group for 2024 published on Tuesday morning include the performance of Kerry Dairy Ireland showing earnings climbed by almost €10m during the year to €63m, with EBITDA margin at the business rising to 4.8%.

Revenue at Kerry Dairy Ireland, net of inter-Kerry Group-segment revenue, was virtually unchanged at €1.05bn.

The end of Kerry Group’s financial year coincided with the sale of the dairy division to Kerry Co-op. The group’s report gives a breakdown of how the payment by Kerry Co-op was structured. The share redemption scheme was valued at €261.9m, there was €56m paid in cash and a €47.5m payment for working capital.

The loan note from Kerry Group to Kerry Co-op for the balance of the first phase payment of €350m was set at €20.6m, a figure well below previous expectations of a number closer to €35m.

Kerry Group said that as it “does not have significant influence” over Kerry Dairy Ireland and does not have access to the economic benefits of ownership, it will treat the €150m stake in Kerry Dairy Ireland as a financial investment.

Kerry Group retains three seats on the board of Kerry Dairy Ireland for as long as it has its 30% share of the company. Those seats are filled by Gavin Caplis, Catherine Keogh and Ronan Deasy, all senior executives at the firm. Under the terms of the sale to Kerry Co-op, Kerry Group will also receive an annual dividend of €7.5m from Kerry Dairy Ireland.

Looking at the results for Kerry Group as a whole, the company reported a profit after tax of €734m, slightly up from €728m in 2023.

As we look to 2025, Kerry remains strongly positioned for good market outperformance

Revenue was €7.98bn, marginally lower than the previous year. When Kerry Dairy Ireland was stripped out of the accounts, the balance of the company made a profit after tax of €673m on revenue of €6.93bn.

The group finished the year with €1.61bn in cash and had an effective tax rate of 14.1%.

Looking ahead to 2025, Kerry forecast earnings per share growth of between 7% and 11%.

Edmond Scanlon, CEO of Kerry Group said: “As we look to 2025, Kerry remains strongly positioned for good market outperformance due to our unique positioning with our customers as an innovation and renovation partner.”

Kerry’s current €300m share buyback programme is continuing, but the company did not say if another programme would commence once this one ends.

Kerry announced a final dividend of 89 cents per share. The company said that its annual general meeting will take place at 2pm on Thurs, May 1st 2025.