Kerry Co-operative Creameries Ltd members have voted in favour of increasing the nominal value of shares in the co-op.

It was one of two votes to take place at a recent special general meeting (SGM) of Kerry Co-op in the Gleneagle Hotel, Killarney, Co. Kerry.

Two resolutions were recommended to members by the Kerry Co-op board, with each requiring a two thirds majority vote to be passed.

In total, 287 Kerry Co-op members were present for the meeting, with 284 of those voting.

Shares

The first vote proposed to increase the nominal share value of Kerry Co-op shares from the current 12.5 cent to €1.25 per share.

This was resolution was passed with 75.7% of the members voting in favour.

Kerry Co-op chair James Tangney told Agriland that prior to December 2024 all Kerry Co-op shares were valued at €1.25.

As part of the deal which saw the Kerry Co-op buy a 70% stake in the Kinisla (formally Kerry Dairy Ireland), the co-op sub-divided those shares by 10, bringing the value down to 12.5 cents per share.

Under a mechanism recommended by ICOS, the co-op will now give members 9 bonus shares for every one they own, and then merge those 10 shares back into a single share.

This allows for the increase in the face value of each share without changing the overall share count or ownership percentage.

The move would also increase the Kerry Co-op's reserve shares from 500,000 to over 5.1 million.

Along with increasing the share value, Tangney said the vote would bring Kerry Co-op's share reserves closer in line to other co-ops in the country.

The Kerry Co-op chair stressed that the overall number of shares in the co-op has not changed and that no shareholder in the co-op had gained nor lost shares due to the resolution.

"If you had 100 shares prior to Thursday, when this has gone through, you will have 100 shares on your share certificate. So no one had to transfer shares to anyone," he said.

"There is no extra share being created by the passing of this resolution. There is not one extra share being created, so therefore, there is no dilution," he added.

Rulebook

The second resolution at the SGM saw 78.4% of members vote to remove all references to Kerry Group plc from the Kerry Co-op rule book.

Kerry Co-op owned 11% of Kerry Group prior to December 2024. However, following the approval of dairy business deal the co-op no longer has any shares in the plc.

Tangney also said Kerry Co-op intends to bring forward "a whole new rulebook" to its shareholders "in the coming years, sooner, maybe rather than later".

He said Kerry Co-op will work with ICOS, its legal team and rules committee on these changes before they are presented to the advisory committees for their opinions.

Any proposed new rulebook will then require the approval of co-op members.

Shareholders

Kerry Co-op's almost 12,000 shareholders are divided into three categories: A shareholders are active milk suppliers; B shareholders have ceased to supply milk; and C shareholders, known as 'dry shareholders', who typically acquired their shares through inheritance or commercial purchases.

Under the current rulebook, A and B shareholders are eligible to vote, while C shareholders do not have voting rights.

Concern have been raised about how each of these shareholders are represented across the co-op.

Tangney said "the representation of shareholders is always important to us", adding that this will be among the issues considered as part of the new rulebook process.

"I can assure you there will be nothing done without full consultation with our shareholders because, it's our shareholders we're representing and our shareholders we want to bring on any journey that we're going on, as we did the last day in the SGM," he added.

Kinisla

The SGM followed Kerry Co-op's annual general meeting (AGM) during which the financial performance of Kinisla for 2025 was discussed.

The annual report of Kerry Co-Operative Creameries, which primarily reflects Kinisla's performance, shows that revenue reached almost €1.4 billion last year.

Kinisla is 70% owned by Kerry Co-op, with the remaining 30% owned by Kerry Group.

According to the financial statements, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBIDTA) stood at €81.3 million.