KERRY GROUP yesterday reported "a healthy" like-for-like growth in revenues of 7.5 per cent for the year to date and said it was sticking to its earlier predictions in growth in earnings for 2008.

The group's annual general meeting (agm) in Tralee, Co Kerry, heard confident forecasts for the years ahead, and shareholders were told it had anticipated the current rise in food prices, inflationary and currency pressures as far back as 2005.

At his first agm as chief executive, Stan McCarthy told shareholders the back half of 2007 had been "a very strong six months"; performance continued to be strong and the group was sticking with guidance at the 2007 results of growth in full-year earnings to a range of 151 cent to 155 cent per share.

Mr McCarthy paid tribute to the "stewardship" of former chief executive Hugh Friel for anticipating inflationary and currency pressures as early as 2005 and adapting to them quite successfully .

The beverage category had provided excellent growth opportunities and would play a very important part in future plans by Kerry Group plc, he said. "We are more than just a food ingredients and flavour business. We are a food and beverage business."

Beverages would form as important a part of the group in the future as food, he said. He did not dwell on the rise in food prices globally but told reporters afterwards that Kerry's way to tackle the issue was through innovation and investing in efficiency.

The best return for shareholders was to grow Kerry's business base from €5 billion to €10 billion in the next five to six years through strong organic growth and value-enhancing acquisitions.

He referred to the group's acquisition of Breeo Foods in March and said "significantly" more money would be spent on acquisitions.

Chief financial officer Brian Mehigan said in this climate of tight credit and particularly with a free cash flow of €257 million, the trading strength of the group had never been stronger. The company looked forward to further financial growth and development in 2008.

One shareholder, identifying himself as "O'Rourke", said the full page of photographs of the board of 18 directors in the 2007 annual report "looks like a Welsh voice male choir" and asked were there any plans to include women. Even construction companies these days had women on board, he noted.