Carbery growth continues globally

Carbery Group has announced a strong operational and financial performance in its 2013 annual results. The group saw an 11.9% increase in its 2013 turnover to €318.3m (2012: €284.6m) and an increase of 23% in PBT to €13.0m (2012: €10.6m).

Carbery Food Ingredients, made up of its nutritional ingredients business and the flavour and taste business, Synergy, performed well, the company says. Investment in R&D and process, based on its Optipep hydrolysed whey technology, resulted in a range of new products being brought to market during the year. These new products were targeted to the infant formula and clinical nutrition sectors.

In 2012 the group entered into a joint venture in Southern Brazil, with local multinational, BRF, to build and run a new whey processing plant on the site of BRF’s large cheese facility at Rio Grande do Sul State. Completion of this facility is expected in 2014 with plant commissioning scheduled for Q4. Commenting, Dan MacSweeney, CEO of Carbery Group says, “This joint venture gives us access to large volumes of fresh whey which we
will convert into valuable nutritional ingredients, using Carbery’s expertise. We are very excited by the potential of this development for the rapidly developing Latin American food and beverage markets.” Other key highlights for the year included the opening of a new flavour facility at Wauconda, Illinois, and a new manufacturing facility in Thailand to serve the emerging markets of South East Asia. Synergy UK are currently completing construction of new state-of-the-art sensory laboratories at its High Wycombe site. These investments strengthen Synergy’s ability to serve its global customers quicker and more effectively with an enhanced geographical footprint and cutting-edge technical capabilities.