GRACEKENNEDY has its sights set on entering the Haitian market, as the Jamaica-based conglomerate continues on its mission to grow its international footprint.

“Haiti is on our radar. In fact I have gone into Haiti to look at opportunies,” GK Foods CEO Michael Ranglin told shareholders on Wednesday at the company’s annual general meeting in Kingston.

“That project is still being developed; there are certain things that you have to get right when you are going into Haiti,” Ranglin said.

However, the GK Foods boss noted that the priority overseas markets targeted for growth remain Ghana, the US and Canada.

“We are looking at where the big bang is going to come from — Ghana, the US and Canada,” he said. “Those are the areas that we are focusing on now. In another two years or so you will hear a lot more about other areas that we are going in.”

Grace aims to become a global consumer group by 2020, targeting to earn 50 per cent of proÞts from outside of Jamaica and 15 per cent of revenues from each of three continents — North America, Europe and Africa.

For the 2012 financial year, total revenues were five per cent higher at $61.3 billion, with sales up across all the group’s major segments — food trading, retail and trading, banking and investments, insurance, and money services. Pre-tax profit increased marginally to $4.1 billion during the year compared to 2011.

The firm reported that 37 per cent of profits came from outside Jamaica, up from 26 per cent the year prior. North America represented 12.7 per cent of revenues, Europe accounted for 15.2 per cent and the Caribbean was 5.8 per cent.

“Africa is not on the map yet, and that we believe presents a lot of growth opportunity for the GraceKennedy group,” stated Don Wehby, GraceKennedy Group CEO.

Last year the company expanded on the African continent, more specifically in Ghana where it has a number of food products, including the popular Tropical Rhythms drinks. In 2012, revenues in Africa grew by 233 per cent over the year prior.

“The revenues for the first four months of 2013 has already exceeded total revenues for 2012 in Ghana,” Wehby told shareholders.

Meanwhile, Wehby lauded outgoing GraceKennedy chairman Douglas Orane for his outstanding leadership of the company over the years. Orane will be replaced by Professor Gordon Shirley as chairman in January, marking the first time the conglomerate will have an independent non-executive chairman in its 90-year history.

Orane retired as GraceKennedy Group CEO on June 30, 2011. He served as executive chairman for a period of one year to June 30, 2012, after which he was appointed non-executive Board Chairman for the period July 1, 2012 to December 31, 2013. He will remain on the GraceKennedy Board after he vacates the chair on December 31, 2013.