Aryzta first quarter profits rise

Revenue at baked goods' producer Aryzta rose 9 per cent to €1.1 billion in the first quarter of the year.

The Zurich-based company reiterated its full-year guidance of 5 to 10 per cent growth, saying underlying earnings per share remain unchanged.

The company's European division, which accounts for around 44 per cent of revenue, grew 1.6 per cent to €321.2 million, amid challenging conditions including widening government austerity measures.

The company's North America division experienced a 12.3 per cent growth in revenue to €367.5 million.

Origin, in which Aryzta has a majority ownership, reported an 11.2 per cent increase in revenue to €351.2 million.

Aryzta's chief executive Owen Killian said the results were "satisfactory, given that the global trading environment remains very challenging and has not improved since our year-end results announcement in September".

"Based on the Q1 performance, we continue to view the outlook and guidance issued with our 2012 full-year results as valid," he added.

Aryzta was formed in 2008 after Swiss bakery group Hiestand and Irish company IAWS merged.

Earlier this year, Aryzta raised CHF 174,341,799 (€144 million) through a placing of 4.25 million new shares at a price of 41.00 per share with institutional investors.