Kerry Group CEO: 'No replacement for US market'
The chief executive of Kerry Group has said that the US market will continue to be the most important for the company.
Edmond Scanlon made the comments at the Kerry Group annual general meeting (AGM) which took place today (Thursday, May 1) at the Rose Hotel, Tralee.
During the meeting, one shareholder voiced concern about the possible impact of US tariffs on Kerry Group and asked whether the company should instead focus on other markets.
"We've analysed all the scenarios, as best we possibly can. No one can predict the future, but we've done every type of analysis with our team internally, we've got plenty of advice from the outside.
"Where we have landed is that there is no replacement for the US market. This is the reality of the situation," Scanlon said.
Kerry Group currently has operations in more than 50 countries, with some 49 manufacturing facilities in the US market. The company's North American business is worth around €3 billion.
"At the end of the day, we're in the food business. People have to eat. It's just a basic fact.
"What consumers are looking for, not only in the US market but in every market, is for products that are a little bit healthier. There is no one better positioned in the US, or in any other market, to help our customer base to develop products that are a little bit healthier.
"We're definitely not giving up on the US market. The reality of the situation is that it is the most dynamic market that we're operating in," Scanlon said.
"While tariffs have caused a lot of noise, we don't have any real significant exposure there because in the US we source and manufacture in the same country. We're importing very very little actually into the US.
"We're not immune but we're very well positioned. We're as well positioned as we possibly can be," he added.
The Kerry Group chief executive also noted that there is a lot of discussion currently in the US about making the diet healthier with less sugar, salt and calories in food.
"While there hasn't been any really published yet, there's a lot of discussion around this 'Make America Healthy Again' movement.
"Again, we're very well positioned to be able to help our customers to take sugar, salt and fat out of their formulations. That is exactly what they're talking about now.
"What we would love to see is regulations being implemented into the US to make the diet healthier because we have evolved our portfolio and changed our portfolio in recent years to help us to be able to meet that demand of the customer," Scanlon said.
"After doing an extensive amount of analysis, we still feel that the US market will continue to be our most important market.
"While we'll have to manage through tariffs, it's not something we'd be calling out today as being a major risk to the business," he added.
Last month, US President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on the higher rate of tariffs on imports to the US from the EU and other countries, except China.
Trump said all countries that had not retaliated against US tariffs would only face a blanket US tariff of 10% until July.
Under the original announcement, agri-food produce from Ireland would have been impacted by a 20% tariff on exports from the EU.
Earlier today, Kerry Group announced a 6.3% boost in revenue over the first three months of this year.
In its Q1 Interim Management Statement 2025, reported revenue increased by 6.3% in the period, comprising volume growth of 3.1%, positive pricing of 0.2%, favourable transaction currency of 0.5%, favourable translation currency of 1.7%, and contribution from acquisitions net of disposals of 0.8%.
Continuing business EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) margin increased by 90bps (basis points), primarily driven by cost efficiencies, contribution from acquisitions, operating leverage, and portfolio mix.
