Aryzta revenue rebounds in third quarter

Swiss-Irish bakery group Aryzta said its revenue returned to growth in the third quarter, with organic revenue from continuing operations rising 1.4 per cent.

Total revenue was €621.9 million for the three-month period, up 6.2 per cent on a constant currency basis and 3.5 per cent lower when currency movements were taken into account.

Revenue in Europe was €302.9 million for the quarter ended May 1st, up 0.6 per cent. When the impact of foreign exchange was taken into account, revenue was down 0.3 per cent.

Aryzta’s rest of the world revenue was €58.5 million, up 14 per cent on a constant currency basis and 11.6 per cent when the foreign exchange movements were accounted for. The disposal of US assets were completed during the quarter, earlier than expected, with revenue from continuing operations up 2 per cent to €361.4 million.

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"The swift conclusion of the Aryzta North America disposal in the period and a resumption of organic growth underscores the progress being achieved in a short time," said Aryzta chairman and interim chief executive Urs Jordi.

“While Q3 revenue development was positive in terms of volume and price/mix for continuing operations across the majority of our markets, some have yet to turn positive and work is actively ongoing to accelerate this.”

Total revenue in the nine months to May 1st was €1.9 billion, a 17.1 per cent decline year-on-year as the company felt the impact of the pandemic. Revenue from continuing operation was almost 15 per cent lower at €1.1 billion.

In May Aryzta announced it had completed the sale of its North American business to an affiliate of US private equity firm Lindsay Goldberg. The transaction, which had a price tag of $850 million, had initially been expected to close before the end of July.

The group's North American business included artisan bread brand La Brea, cookie and muffin brand Otis Spunkmeyer and Fresh Start bakeries, which was previously owned by Lindsay Goldberg. The cash sale involved 15 facilities and 4,000 employees.

Aryzta’s share price fell by just under 1 per cent following the trading update.

Separately. Aryzta said it had appointed Martin Huber as the new group chief financial officer, replacing interim CFO Jonathan Solesbury. The Swiss national previously worked with Nestlé, where he was the CFO of Nespresso.