Huge increase in sales for bakery

SWISS bakery company Hiestand — in which Irish group IAWS owns a 32% stake — has reported a 43.5% annual increase in sales for 2007 to CHF740.7 million (€463.2m), in a pre-close trading update.

Most of the growth — by far the group’s largest annual revenue increase — was motivated by acquisitions. The company also said it expects earnings and profit targets for last year to be met.