Aryzta, the food company formed by the merger of IAWS and Swiss bakery group Hiestand, has issued a trading update for the nine months to the end of April. It has also announced two acquisitions.
It said total sales in the period were down almost 9% from the same period last year to just over €2.2 billion. The rate of decline slowed to 6.4% in third quarter to the end of April.
CEO Owen Killian said the business was responding well to what were tough economic conditions for consumers. Aryzta said the decline in sales in Europe was most evident in the UK and Ireland.
But the company has raised its outlook for the full-year, saying it now expects underlying earnings per share to show an increase on the previous year, helped by currency movements and a boost from the deals announced today.
Aryzta has bought Fresh Start Bakeries, which includes the Pennant Food and Sweet Life businesses, for $900m. The company has 29 production facilities in a number of countries. It has also bought North American pizza supplier Great Kitchens for $180m.
The two companies Aryzta has bought have combined sales of more than $1 billion.
Shares in the company jumped by 7.8% to €28.86 in Dublin this afternoon.
