Food manufacturer Kerry Group posted mixed preliminary results, with revenue decreasing by 2.5 per cent to around £5.9bn compared to last year.

However, the EBITDA went up to approximately £1.1bn from around £1.04bn in the same period last year.

The increase in the EBITDA margin was due to brand portfolio developments, the new operational strategy and the company’s ability to scale and manage risks according to the business.

Kerry Group experienced a volume growth of 3 per cent, with a particularly strong fourth quarter that had a 2.8% increase, led by the snacks, bakery and beverage categories.

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The business saw a strong volume growth in the Americas throughout the year and expanded its nutritional reach of balanced solutions to 1.46bn consumers.

Edmond Scanlon, CEO of Kerry Group, said: “We delivered another year of strong end-market volume outperformance and margin expansion, supporting high-single-digit constant currency adjusted earnings per share growth.

“We continued to strategically evolve our business, including further developing our biotechnology solutions and taste capabilities, expanding our manufacturing footprint in emerging markets and strengthening our customer innovation centre network, while executing on our Accelerate programme.”

The company is confident in its ability to deliver a strong performance in the upcoming year and expects constant currency-adjusted earnings per share growth of between 6 per cent and 10 per cent.