Q1 2025 Kerry Group PLC Interim Management Statement Call Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Alex Sloane - Barclays - Analyst : Yeah, hi, morning all. Thanks for taking the questions. Two for me, please. Just firstly, within the overall guidance you talked to, being positioned for good volume growth, I think previously you'd indicated you're aiming for in line to better volumes in '25 versus '24, is that still a reasonable base case? That would be the first one. And the second one, just in North America, I mean, several of your peers perhaps more focused on flavors have called out this region as a weak spot in Q1, referencing some customers slowing orders in the face of weaker macro backdrop, but your performance doesn't seem to reflect this, with decent volume growth you help by that innovation agenda. Could you talk to the performance in April in North America, and your expectations for the full year for that region. Thanks.

Question: Alex Sloane - Barclays - Analyst : Thanks very much.

Question: Ed Hockin - JPMorgan - Analyst : Hi there. Thank you very much for taking my questions. My first one is following up on the volumes, I think before you'd pointed to end markets growing just above 0%, 0.5%. Obviously we see the reporting of global food companies, of some of the foodservice operators and such. What's your best view of how the end market's volume growth was in Q1? And then my second question is on to your point on reformulation, how do you see the brief pipeline ahead, the innovation pipeline? Are there any KPIs or data points that you can point to on whether this innovation pipeline is bigger than it has been in past years, where the reformulation activity is picking up versus past years, that would be helpful. Thank you.

Question: Ed Hockin - JPMorgan - Analyst : Thank you.

Question: Fulvio Cazzol - Berenberg - Analyst : Yes, good morning and thank you for taking my question. So my first one is in terms of any sort of volume acceleration from Q1, where could this become more visible in the coming quarters? Should we expect Europe to recover a little bit from the flattish growth that you achieved in Q1? And also across the channels you expect slightly better growth in foodservice as you cycle weaker comps or could the retail business also improve? So that's my first question on the volume development. And then on my second question is on the potential risk of a recession. There seems to be more and more chatter about a recession in the US. Can you remind us on your experience on the consumer trends back in '09? And the risk you would see to your business in the event of a recession later in the year, please. Thank you.

Question: Fulvio Cazzol - Berenberg - Analyst : Thank you, very helpful.

Question: Cathal Kenny - Davy Research - Analyst : Good morning. Two questions from my side. Firstly, on APMEA, another good performance there, despite challenges in China, which have persisted now for a couple of quarters. Just interested in your view in terms of the outlook for that region, in particular China, as we get into the second half of '25. Second question is just on margin. Marguerite, perhaps you can remind us of the cadence of margin and the levers for 2025 as well, please. They're my two questions.

Question: Cathal Kenny - Davy Research - Analyst : Thank you, very helpful.

Question: Patrick Higgins - Goodbody - Analyst : Thanks. Good morning everyone. And most of my questions have been answered, but just one on, I guess, competitive intensity across your customer base. It seemed like it was being a ramp up in terms of (inaudible) and innovation, not just renovation, but at the start of this year, just interested to see how that's kind of progressed through the quarter and clearly post April as well, and given the tariff situation.

Question: Patrick Higgins - Goodbody - Analyst : Thank you. (inaudible)

Question: Nicola Tang - BNP Paribas - Analyst : Hi, Ron. Thanks for taking the questions. First, just to come back a bit on Europe, I was wondering if you could talk a little bit more around what you're seeing, looking forward here, particularly on the retail side, which was a little bit weak. And then secondly, just on the buyback, I think announcing the new program today, I think that had been broadly expected, but perhaps the timing of the announcement was a bit earlier. So could you just share your thoughts around sort of timing and also this is your fourth buyback, so can we assume that this is really part a sort of core part of your capital allocation priorities going forward. Thanks. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MAY 01, 2025 / 7:00AM, KYGa.I - Q1 2025 Kerry Group PLC Interim Management Statement Call

Question: Nicola Tang - BNP Paribas - Analyst : Thank you.

Question: Charles Bentley - Jefferies - Analyst : Oh, thanks so much for taking my questions. Just a couple. So I mean you talked about some of the kind of raw material driven reformulation that you're seeing from customers around citrus and cocoa. I mean, I guess if I look at citrus prices, they've essentially halved on a one year view. I mean, it's still very elevated level, but just I guess how do you think about customers stickiness to some of these shifts? Do you think they are basically reactionary or do you think that like the kind of I guess taste profile they're getting and the cost profile they're getting the reliability of the cost profile they're getting and such to kind of retain that business long term? And then secondly, I just -- I guess from a customer perspective, that's I guess there's a tension between defending growth and defending margins. So how much you focus on ANP investment or potentially cut it, and maybe we're seeing kind of different responses from some of the European clients in the US clients. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MAY 01, 2025 / 7:00AM, KYGa.I - Q1 2025 Kerry Group PLC Interim Management Statement Call So I guess, how do you kind of see that evolving and is that why we're seeing such a split in the growth dynamics between the regions, and do you think maybe more customers kind of go to try to defend margin may maybe look to cut ANP? Thank you.

Question: Charles Bentley - Jefferies - Analyst : Great, that's very helpful. And if I could just quickly follow-up, I mean, you talked about the renovation piece for a long period of time and I just -- I guess, do you think it kind of applies -- is it broad-based in terms of there's kind of, I guess, a volume kicker to that in terms of technology? You're getting both a salt reduction or a sugar reduction piece or some form of functionality, masking or whatever, as well as just a pure taste piece. And is that kind of -- how we should be thinking about it?

Question: Charles Bentley - Jefferies - Analyst : Great, very helpful. Thank you.

Question: Charles Eden - UBS - Analyst : I'm morning, Edmund, and Marguerite. Morning, William. I have a more medium term question on the lactase enzymes business. Can you talk through some of the benefits or early wins that this has driven since it's been part of the Kerry portfolio. And linked to this, biotech is clearly a priority for Kerry, and I assume this won't be the last acquisition in this space we see in the coming years. So could you talk a little bit more about what other areas you'd like to add to within your biotech toolkit? Thanks.

Question: Charles Eden - UBS - Analyst : Yeah, just in terms of the (multiple speakers)

Question: Charles Eden - UBS - Analyst : Appreciate it. Thanks Edmund.