Shares in Swiss-Irish baked goods group Aryzta rose 3 per cent on the back of interim results on Monday that show continued improvement at the once-threatened group.
Revenue jumped 24 per cent to €1.04 billion in the first half, delivering a profit of €51.7 million compared to a loss in the same period last year.
Volume growth was 5.8 per cent with ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) margins increased by 5.4 percentage points to 12.5 per cent.
The company announced the irrevocable redemption of the €200 million dent outstanding in its euro hybrid bond last month and, on Monday, it said Sandip Gudka would be appointed as group chief operations officer. Aryzta is also changing its financial year-end from July to December.
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Aryzta, which numbers Cuisine de France among its brands, has now seen its shares jump 70 per cent in the past year, and 16 per cent year-to-date, though they are still at just a fraction of the price they traded at in their heyday.
Chairman and interim chief executive Urs Jordi said business performance had improved “across all our key metrics as our strategic plan continues to deliver”.
The company said it would meet full-year guidance despite a “challenging trading environment”.
