Global food group Aryzta has booked a jump in revenues for the first nine months of the year as acquisitions saw the company double its bakery output.
Total revenues for the period ended 30 April rose 31.6% to EUR2.92bn (US$4.28bn), the company revealed this morning (7 June).
The Switzerland-based food and agribusiness group formed following the merger of Iaws and Hiestand in 2008 said that revenues from its food businesses increased by 55%.
While the company said that its results were boosted by recent acquisitions, including Fresh Start Bakeries and Great Kitchens, Aryzta added that it was “encouraged” by an upward trend in underlying sales.
“We are encouraged by the underlying revenue trends which show modest growth, reflecting a fragile recovery in consumer activity in most markets,” said CEO Owen Killian.
However, sounding a note of caution on margins, the company acknowledged that raw material inflation has continues and “shows no sign of abating”.
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By GlobalData“The group has an ongoing programme of dynamic pricing and we are working closely with our customers to mitigate the impact of pricing on the consumer through product innovation, product selection and service model efficiencies,” said Killian.
In its European food division, Aryzta said the UK and Irish markets are still “moderately in decline” but continental markets have returned to growth. However, the majority of sales growth was driven by gains in North America and other international markets, the company added.
Commenting on the results, MF Global analyst Andy Smith said that the figures were “reassuring”.
“Overall we would classify these results as gently reassuring with a sequential improvement in underlying sales growth (driven, we expect by price) in Europe and the US. The acquisitions in the US of Fresh Start Bakery is progressing well and we do not expect that underlying consensus EPS growth will move materially,” he commented.