Thanks to its unrivalled scale and inspired management, McCormick has delivered outstanding operational and financial performance for twenty years. Unsurprisingly, this steamroller dynamic will continue in the first half of 2023.

Like a metronome, the Group has tripled its sales in twenty years, and maintained a constant operating margin to the nearest decimal point. Over the last cycle, i.e. the period 2012-2022, it generated $6.4 billion in cumulative profits, all of which were reinvested in acquisitions.

While the return on investment from these external growth operations is in fact modest, it further consolidates the competitive position of a group whose brand portfolio dominates the shelves of all American and European supermarkets.

Over the period 2012-2022, McCormick has also returned $3.2 billion to its shareholders, the vast majority via the distribution of an ever-increasing annual dividend, thus qualifying the group as a genuine "dividend aristocrat". Debt is increasing by an equivalent amount.

The valuation reflects the intrinsic quality of the business, but leaves no margin of safety. In practice, for the past ten years, well-managed FMCG groups have been valued at a premium to AAA sovereign bonds.

This trend continues, indicating that investors perceive - rightly or wrongly - these securities as the safest yield alternatives of all.