The man behind the great vision of Kerry Group

Business person of the month October 2012: Stan McCarthy, Kerry Group CEO

The Kerry group is leading the way in the push to make Ireland a world leader in food production and CEO Stan McCarthy is determined to make Ireland the centre of Kerry's production.
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Food group Kerry announced in October that it will invest €100 million and create 800 jobs and at a new technology and innovation centre in Kildare.

The new facility will be built on 28 acre site in the Millennium Business Park, Naas and will accommodate 800 people in 2015 and a further 100 positions by mid-2016.

The Kerry Group, which currently employs 24,000 people worldwide and has a turnover of €5.5 billion turnover, says that the Naas facility will house Kerry’s global technology and innovation centre as well as the global and EMEA regional management of the company’s ingredients and flavours division.

At the heart of Kerry’s continued growth and development has been CEO Stan McCarthy, who has been one of the driving forces behind the company which is a world leader in the food and ingredients market.

Successful 2012

Kerry reported pre-tax profits of €208.6 million for the first six months of 2012, a 13.7% increase on the €183.4 million in the same time last year. Group revenue was reported as up by 10% to €2.9 billion for the six months to the end of June with a breakdown of its divisions showing that revenue at Kerry’s ingredients and flavours business rose by 14% to €2.1 billion.

Following the release of the results McCarthy said that the board is increasing its interim dividend per share by 10.2% to 10.8 cent and detailed the increase in guidance for adjusted earnings per share in 2012:

"Kerry achieved a strong financial and operating performance in the first half of 2012 which augurs well for the full year. We have a strong innovation pipeline and continue to make good progress in implementation of our ‘1 Kerry Business Transformation’ programme. The group is confident of delivering our full year growth objectives and has revised adjusted earnings per share guidance upwards. We now expect to achieve eight to twelve per cent growth in adjusted earnings per share in 2012".

International acquisitions

A key focus of Kerry’s business in 2012 has been the successful integration of the acquisitions completed in 2011. In September of last year Kerry purchased German based ingredients supplier SuCrest in an expansion of their European division. The value of the deal has not been disclosed but the ingredients firm had 2010 revenues of €50 million.

In another acquisition to its ingredients business in 2011 Kerry group bought multinational food flavouring company Cargill Flavor Systems for a total consideration of $230 million. Cargill have annual revenues of approximately $200 million and employ 700 people across 23 different countries development bases in 11 countries including France, the UK, South Africa, China an the USA

It is clear that both deals aim to increase further Kerry’s global reach in the food ingredients market and the half-year year figures have already benefitted from the acquisitions with like-for-like growth in the trading profit of the ingredients and flavours business of 10.9% to €213m with the division's trading margin improved by 30 basis points to 10.3%.

CEO

Stan McCarthy was appointed chief executive of Kerry Group plc, a public company listed on the Dublin and London Stock Exchanges, on the first day of 2008. Prior to this appointment, he was president and CEO of Kerry Ingredients Americas since 1996 and before that, an executive director of the group since 1999.

In fact, McCarthy's career has progressed almost entirely within the Kerry Group. A native of Co Kerry himself, he joined the group's graduate recruitment programme in 1976 and worked in finance in Ireland until his appointment as financial controller in the USA after Kerry's representative office was established in Chicago in 1984.

Following the group's €130m acquisition of Beatreme Food Ingredients (Beatreme is the top speciality food supplier in the US) in 1988, he was appointed vice-president of materials management and purchasing.

In 1991, he was appointed vice-president of sales and marketing and was then named president of Kerry Ingredients Americas in 1996.

 

India's government has once again cleared a controversial plan to open up its lucrative retail sector to global supermarket chains.

Last year, the government suspended a similar plan after fierce opposition from its allies and political rivals.

International firms such as Walmart and Tesco will now be able to buy up to a 51% stake in multi-brand retailers.

Analysts say the government has reintroduced the measure in an effort to revive a flagging economy.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said: "I believe that these steps will help strengthen our growth process and generate employment in these difficult times."

Strong opposition

The decision was one of several key reforms announced by the government. It also approved a plan to allow foreign airlines to buy 49% stakes in local carriers, in the hope that this will boost the country's troubled aviation sector.

Continue reading the main story

It also follows Thursday's dramatic 14% rise in the price of diesel, which is heavily subsidised in India.

The government was forced to back down on retail reform after the cabinet first undertook to open up the retail sector last November.

The move had been strongly opposed by tens of thousands of small businesses and cornershops who fear they will be put out of business.

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and the Communists labelled it a "betrayal of democracy".

But this latest move has already been welcomed by economists who say it will transform the way Indians shop and will boost the economy.

Some business leaders also backed the plan.

Sunil Bharti Mittal, chief executive of conglomerate Bharti Enterprises, said: "The series of policy decisions announced by the government today signal that India is on the move.

"More importantly, they will boost sentiment within the domestic industry and provide much needed momentum to the economy."

Briefing reporters after the press conference, Trade Minister Anand Sharma said: "Views of all state governments were ascertained, some states received the proposal very well, some expressed reservations. We tried to build a consensus through an inclusive and democratic process."

Mr Sharma said the implementation of the policy had been left entirely to the states, suggesting that some opposed to reform could opt out.

Direct selling

Reports suggest that other conditions have also been imposed on groups wanting to invest in India.

For example, companies will have to invest at least $100m (£67m), open outlets only in towns with a population of more than one million and source at least 30% of produce from India, the AFP news agency reports.

Similar conditions were suggested when the government first attempted to introduce the plan last year.

Multinational retailers such as like Walmart, Carrefour and Tesco already have outlets in India, but they deal with smaller retailers. This decision allows these chains to sell directly to Indian consumers.

"Tesco welcomes this positive development but we await further detail on the conditions... we are hopeful that [it] will allow more Indian consumers, businesses and communities to benefit from world-class retail investment," said a statement by Tesco.

Wal-Mart said greater investment following the government's move would "lower the price of products, improve the livelihoods of farmers and ease supply-side inflation.

"Through these, and several other initiatives, we hope to make a positive impact on the lives of the people of India."

More about RAIN

Kerry Group and Concern Launch “Pioneering Initiative” to Prevent Undernutrition and High Child Mortality  in the Developing World

   Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msMXHFP4DeQ

€3.7m five-year  RAIN  project focuses on  sustainable prevention of  “unacceptably high undernutrition stunting and mortality rates in children under two”

Source: http://www.concern.net/sites/www.concern.net/files/documents/kerry_press_release.pdf

Concern Worldwide and Kerry Group today announced a pioneering initiative aimed at the improving undernutrition and mortality rates in children under two years of age in the developing world.

The partnership and funding commitment was formally announced at the Merrion Hotel in Dublin at midday by Minister for Agriculture, Marine and Food Simon Coveney, Kerry Group CEO Stan McCarthy and Concern CEO Tom Arnold.

The RAIN (Realigning Agriculture  to Improve Nutrition) project will see Kerry Group contribute  €1.25m of the overall  €3.7m budget to the five year  initiative, which will be conducted in Zambia, and is the second partnership between two of Ireland’s strongest international brand names. A third party, the highly respected International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), will again join the two organisations in an impact, assessment and evaluation capacity. 

RAIN is positioned to be among the few projects worldwide that will fill the evidence gap that currently exists around integrated agriculture and nutrition projects,

The specific objective of the five-year project is to reduce the prevalence of chronic malnutrition among pregnant mothers and young children and to improve the nutritional status of vulnerable  populations in the region of Mumbwa District, Western Zambia.

In line with both organisations’ sustainability policies, it is intended that the RAIN project model can then be scaled up and replicated in other areas of Zambia and in other countries where Concern is working and that this will significantly influence international policy in relation to prevention of childhood stunting internationally.

“The RAIN project is a  pioneering initiative and Kerry Group is delighted to partner with Ireland’s largest international humanitarian agency, Concern Worldwide, in trying to find sustainable, scalable and replicable solutions for the prevention of  undernutrition stunting and child deaths. It will combine agriculture with early nutrition interventions to tackle this massive humanitarian issue. It’s not going away and simply can not be ignored,” said Kerry Group CEO, Stan McCarthy. 

Concern CEO Tom Arnold added: “Commitment will be the key to defeating  unacceptably high mortality, undernutrition  stunting and disease rates in children under two. It is to the great credit of Kerry Group that they are fully behind this five-year project, one which builds on the  commitment made by the Irish and US governments last year to recognise, with practical actions and projects, the importance of adequate nutrition in the critical 1,000 days from pregnancy to age two.”.

Undernutrition is the underlying cause of 3.5 million deaths globally on an annual basis, with 35% of the disease burden in children younger than five years.

Stunting, an indicator of chronic undernutrition, is much more than hampered normal growth; it can cause irreversible brain damage, increases the risk of contracting diseases in childhood and in later life, with consequent knock-on  effects of  reduced productivity in adulthood and higher health care requirements and costs.  Adequate nutrition during a mother’s pregnancy and before age two makes the first 1,000 days the critical period of a child’s most rapid mental and physical development.

Zambia was chosen as the location for this innovative project as approximately 45% of its pre-school children are stunted as a result of chronic malnutrition. 3,480 households in Mumbwa District with pregnant women and/or children below the age of two years will be selected for the project, reflecting the important period from pregnancy to two years of age.

Concern's RAIN project - funded by Kerry Group

Concern Worldwide, Irish food company Kerry Group and the International Food Policy Research Institute have launched a pioneering initiative to improve malnutrition in young children in developing countries.

Innovative partnership

This initiative is part of our five-year RAIN (Realigning Agriculture to Improve Nutrition) project. Kerry Group is generously contributing €1.25 million of the overall €3.7 million project budget.

Source:http://www.concern.net/get-involved/involve-your-company/kerrygroup

RAIN project

The aim of this programme is to improve nutrition in the critical time between pregnancy and two years of age. It focuses on the sustainable prevention of malnutrition in children under two – the crucial 1,000 days period when proper nutrition is so crucial for physical and cognitive development. Zambia was chosen as the location because approximately 45% of its pre-school children are stunted as a result of malnutrition.

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmnT3O8DWX8

A green and natural image

Bord Bia sustainability scheme underlines Ireland’s ‘green and natural’ image

Source:http://www.foodnavigator.com/Financial-Industry/Bord-Bia-sustainability-scheme-underlines-Ireland-s-green-and-natural-image By Caroline Scott-Thomas 12-Sep-2012

• Summary: 

This article talks about the Irish food industry, named Bord Bia, who has the ambition to cement the reputation of the Irish food industry as a world leader in sustainability and for that they want to introduce a new program, called ‘Origin Green’. The programme is “based around a sustainability charter (…) with suppliers pledging to reach independently verified benchmarks for several aspects of their supply chains”. With this program they want to prove that they are perceived as green and natural industry, which has never been proven previously.

• How can this be relevant to the company? 

'Kerry group' is an Irish food company, belonging to this industry that the article refers. As a world leader in ingredients and flavours and as a major consumer foods organisation in Europe, Kerry intended to conduct its business in a sustainable and responsible manner. As such, Kerry Group is one of the Irish companies that have a large paper in the Irish industry reputation as a green and natural industry. So when Bord Bia can prove its reputation with this programme, the company Kerry Group will have more credibility, because to be part of an industry that is considered worldwide as sustainable, is also treated as such. Nowadays, it is quite important to be recognized as a company sustainable because it will provide more adhesion of customers, suppliers and all stakeholders.

Kerry Group signs lucrative export deal 

with Chinese manufacturer

By Joe Dermody

Source:http://www.irishexaminer.com/business/agri-business/kerry-group-signs-lucrative-export-deal-with-chinese-manufacturer-209784.html

Thursday, October 04, 2012

Kerry Group has signed a partnership deal with Beingmate of China to supply dairy ingredients for infant nutrition applications in China.

Beingmate is one of China’s leading manufacturers of infant nutrition products headquartered in Hangzhou, in China. The Partnership provides export growth opportunities for added value dairy ingredients from Kerry Group’s dairy processing facilities in Charleville, Co Cork, and Listowel, Co Kerry. 

Kerry Group director Frank Hayes said: "This deal is building on a relationship we have had with Beingmate for the past 10 years. We have developed an export market into China for dairy protein and infant food products. 

"Beingmate has a well established distribution and retail network in China, and we have reached the stage where their customers are now looking to Ireland for sustainable dairy raw materials. 

"We are looking forward to growing our offerings in food technology for infant and other life stages in the nutritional dairy market in China. This partnership will offer real growth opportunities in research, development and added value products." 

Kerry Group, via its facility in Malaysia, has been delivering nutritional products and technologies for several years to Beingmate, along with advanced research and development services. The Chinese company’s confidence in Kerry Group is likely to be of significant benefit to the broader Irish dairy industry as it develops its FH2020 expansion plans. 

Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney said that the relationship between Kerry Group and Beingmate was built on the strong international reputation of Ireland as a producer of the highest quality food stuffs. 

Mr Coveney said: "This partnership is the product of the hard work and dedication of the Kerry Group. The fact that Ireland is now seen as the major supplier for infant nutritionals worldwide shows the esteem in which Irish food safety control systems, and the quality of Ireland’s grass-based farm produce, are held internationally." 

The minister said that Kerry Group’s deal with Beingmate is a key step in the development of Ireland’s trade with China. He added that Ireland’s political and commercial efforts in China must be supported by an environmentally sustainable production models at all levels of the supply chain. 

Mr Coveney said: "Procurement divisions in all of the major multinational food companies have sustainability at the heart of their corporate agendas. Ireland is the first country, internationally, to develop an independently accredited sustainability model at industry level, through Bord BIA’s ‘Origin Green’ initiative. 

"At farm level, the development of a dairy sustainability programme is at an advanced stage. I am confident that these initiatives will provide essential building blocks for Irish food companies to increase international trade in China and elsewhere." 

He said he wished the Kerry Group and Beingmate every success in the latest beneficial collaborative business arrangements between China and Ireland.