Food manufacturer Kerry Group reported a strong performance in its first quarter results for 2026, with a volume growth of 3.1 per cent despite an ongoing challenging market within the food and beverage industry.

Kerry’s volume growth in the period remained significantly ahead of food and beverage end markets, driven by continued product renovation activity in the retail channel according to the business.

There was a particularly strong growth in the meat, snacks and dairy-led markets.

However, there was a reduction from disposals of 1.2 per cent and an adverse translation currency of 7.9 per cent, which led to an overall reported revenue decrease of 7.3 per cent.

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The Group’s net debt at the end of the period was €2.2bn, and in February 2026, the board approved a new share buyback programme of up to €300m.

CEO of Kerry Group, Edmond Scanlon, said: “We are pleased to deliver a good start to the year, with volume growth across all three regions and continued margin expansion.

“The volume growth we achieved in the first quarter was driven by continued strong growth and market outperformance in the Americas, with good growth in APMEA and a solid performance in Europe.

“Our extensive local footprint, unique technology capability, and the strength of our business model position us well to navigate through this period of geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty, as we proactively support our customers as their innovation and renovation partner.”