Baked goods group Aryzta has reported a 22% decline in revenue for the half year to almost €1.3 billion and an underlying net loss of €16.4m.
This is down from a profit of €34.3m the same time last year.
The group had set a target of €600-800m of proceeds from asset disposals which it achieved in one swoop over the weekend with the sale of its North American operations to private equity firm Lindsay Goldberg for $850m.
Aryzta's North American business includes artisan bread brand La Brea and cookie and muffin brand Otis Spunkmeyer.
It was put on the market late last year, along with its Latin American operations, as part of a plan to shrink its business and cut its debt levels.
That decision came after a battle between the company and shareholders, that ended with a boardroom and management overhaul.
It also followed multiple failed takeover approaches by private equity firm Elliott.
Aryzta is best known in Ireland for its Cuisine de France brand, however its retrenchment has also seen it drop its listing on the Irish stock exchange.
The company said its half year performance reflects the benefit of cost reductions through simplification of the business model and reporting structure and a strong recovery
in North American operations.
But it said improvements were offset by Covid-19 related disruptions in Europe especially due to the impact of lock downs and restrictions across the region and the resultant negative impact on the Foodservice channel.
Due to continuing and changing Covid-19 restrictions, the ongoing disposal process and the level of change being implemented across the organisation, it said it would not be prudent to provide forward guidance for the remainder of the current financial year.
Aryzta chairman and interim CEO Urs Jordi said the company's results highlight the significant progress achieved as a result of its strategy to simplify the business and to de-risk the balance sheet with the sale of the North American business.
"The progress to date validates the overwhelming shareholder vote for change in September and December 2020 and the renewed board's decision to reject the proposal to sell the entire business," Mr Jordi said.
"We can now focus on delivering the necessary operational improvements and returning to organic growth as we leverage the significant broad bakery experience to improve shareholder returns," he added.
