Swiss-Irish bakery firm Aryzta has posted a 5.5% decline in revenues in the first quarter of its 2018 financial year, with revenue totalling €909.7 million.
In Europe, the group's business experienced organic growth of 0.6%, but was offset by negative currency headwinds of -0.9%, while revenue in North America declined by 7%, driven by its Cloverhill business, as well as a further 4.5% negative impact from currency.
However, Aryzta's performance in the rest of the world saw strong organic growth of 7.8%. Excluding the impact of the Cloverhill business in North America, group organic revenue increased overall by 1.3%.
"Europe continues to perform to expectation, including Germany, with broadly based growth across the region offsetting planned Swiss in-sourcing," said Kevin Toland, CEO of Aryzta.
"Progress at Cloverhill in North America is proving difficult. Management’s priority is to continue to identify issues and opportunities to address operating performance and to maximise available free cash flow.”
Performance Outlook
In its 2017 financial year, Aryzta reported declines of 2.1%, with revenue falling to €3.8 billion. However, the company has also made a number of developments in recent months.
Toland began his role as the company's new chief executive officer on 12 September, while Frederic Pflanz has been appointed as its new chief financial officer, effective January 2018.
Looking ahead, Aryzta says that the best current estimate for FY2018 EBITDA will be broadly in line with last year's results, given the range of internal and external challenges.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
