Aryzta reports increase in Q1 revenue

Swiss specialty bakery company Aryzta has announced a revenue rise of 9.6% to €692.6m ($923m) in the first quarter of 2011, representing an acquisition-related growth of 6.7%.

The revenue in the quarter ended 31 October 2011 was boosted by acquisitions of UK-based flatbread company Honeytop and Madistone Bakeries in Canada in 2010/2011, which negated the impact of weak consumer spending in Europe.

The company, with stock market listings in Zurich and Dublin, posted a 4.4% rise in underlying revenue, compared to a 4.7% increase in the previous quarter.

Aryzta CEO Owen Killian said the company has not seen any significant change in the trading environment since September and Q1 is broadly a continuation of Q4 trends.

Killen added the Q1 revenue performance is in line with expectations and estimates 2011/2012 earnings to grow by 9%.

Segment wise, Food Europe revenue rose by 9.2% to €316.2m ($421.40m), due to positive pricing action taken by the company in the period to recover higher raw material prices, which offset weaker volumes.

Acquisition-related revenue growth in the division, accounting for 46% of the group’s revenue, was 6.3%, while underlying revenue increased 1.2%.

Revenue from the North American business, which contributed 47% to the total revenue, was up by 9.1% to €327.1m ($435.92m), helped by higher pricing and acquisition-related revenue growth of 8.1%, while the underlying revenue saw a rise of 6%.

The revenue of Food Rest of the World, which represents the company’s operations in South America, South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand, increased by 16.3% to €49.3m ($65.70m), and the underlying revenue was up 14.7%.

Aryzta, which was formed following the merger of IAWS and Swiss company Hiestand, sells baked bread and pastries under brands such as Delice de France and Cuisine de France in Europe, and its major US brands are Otis Spunkmeyer and La Brea Bakery.

The company is a leading player in the bakery speciality market, with a diversified customer base, including multiple retail, restaurants, catering, hospitals, military, fundraising and limited serve restaurants.

Picture: Aryzta’s Q1 2011 profit was boosted by acquisitions in the UK and Canada.