Cuisine de France owner Aryzta is to refocus its attention on its business-to-business frozen bakery and European food solutions divisions as challenges at its North American arm continue to eat into group earnings.

Shares in Cuisine de France owner Aryzta fell by nearly 9% yesterday on the back of the group reporting flat quarterly underlying revenues and a fall in business in North America.

Troubled baked goods group Aryzta has hired Kevin Toland from the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) to be its new chief executive.

Shares in Cuisine de France owner, Aryzta fell by almost 10% yesterday — making it one of the day’s worst performing European stocks — after the group forecast “erratic” revenue performance for the next 18 months.

Irish-Swiss baked foods business Aryzta is using the €400m or so it will get from the near halving of its stake in Dublin-based agri-services business, Origin Enterprises to acquire a 49% stake in French speciality premium food business Picard.

Contributions from recent acquisitions have continued to drive growth at Irish-Swiss baked food group, Aryzta into its current financial year.

Irish-Swiss baked foods producer, Aryzta paid its executive management team 15.5m Swiss francs (€12.8m) in the last financial year, a 70% rise on the previous year.

Irish-Swiss baked foods group Aryzta has reported a near-7% rise in annual revenues, with the contribution from acquired subsidiaries growing almost 12% on the previous year.

Irish-Swiss baked goods producer, Aryzta has strengthened its presence in Scandinavia, via the acquisition of Danish firm, Mette Munk for an estimated €50m.

Irish-Swiss bakery group Aryzta has hinted it will likely play a part in any upcoming anticipated growth in consolidation within its sector.

The makers of the Cuisine de France brand of breads and cakes, Aryzta, saw its shares surge yesterday after the company out-performed analysts’ expectations.

Aryzta has said that it expects its underlying earnings per share to show a return to double-digit percentage growth next year.

Irish-Swiss bakery group Aryzta is uniquely positioned to capitalise on changes in the North American baked goods market, according to Davy stockbrokers.

Irish-Swiss bakery group Aryzta slashed its combined executive management pay levels by over €10m in its last financial year — a move which saw chief executive, Owen Killian, take a €3m pay cut.

Irish-Swiss food group Aryzta has reported a strong set of annual results, including a near 13% increase in profits, but has warned about the threat of continuing weak consumer spending levels and rising food inflation.

First-half revenues at Irish-Swiss bakery group Aryzta grew by nearly 1% — with its North American interests driving growth and offsetting a disappointing showing from its European operations.

This week’s revelation that Aryzta boss Owen Killian was paid a whopping €7m failed to spark an outcry, due in part to the deliberate low-profile enjoyed by the Roscommon man and the Swiss-Irish firm he heads, says Kyran Fitzgerald.

ARYZTA chief executive Owen Killian saw his total remuneration jump by around €5 million to €7m in the group’s last financial year, making him the highest paid head of a publicly-quoted Irish company.

ARYZTA, the Irish-Swiss bakery group, is to invest €100 million per annum for the next three years improving internal efficiencies.

THE international speciality baking group Aryzta has been sustained by strong sales in the first nine months of the year that were backed by earlier acquisitions.

IN times of economic uncertainty the ability of some firms to buck the trend is always reassuring.

THE food and drinks sector continues to provide solid evidence that this economy still has something to build on for the future.

SPECIALITY bakery group Aryzta’s first-quarter results to the end of October 2010 show strong revenue growth boosted by recent acquisitions.

SPECIALITY bakery group Aryzta has reported an 8.6% fall in underlying sales for the year to €3 billion.

THE uncertainties in the global economy are reflected in the annual results of Aryzta with sales in its key geographic areas, Europe and north America, both down.

IRISH-SWISS bakery group Aryzta saw its share price jump by more than 5% yesterday on the back of announcing three significant international development deals, with a combined value of €385 million.

SIGNIFICANT transactions featuring the likes of CRH, C&C, Greenstar and Icon helped boost Irish merger/ acquisition (M&A) activity in the second quarter of the year, with 20 more deals than during the first three months of the year.

ARYZTA, the Irish-Swiss bakery group, has successfully raised $120 million (€99.3m) to partly fund the two acquisitions it announced earlier this week.

ARYZTA, the food company formed from the merger of IAWS and Swiss bakery group Hiestand, has spent $1.08 billion (€900m) to acquire Fresh Start bakeries and Great Kitchens in the US.

Swiss-Irish food company Aryzta has paid a billion dollars to acquire a frozen pizza company and a bakery group that specialises in making hot dog and hamburger buns.

THE Irish stock market gained about 2% yesterday, but shares other than the main banks were the news-makers.

FOOD group Aryzta, formed out of IAWS and Swiss bakery group Hiestand, has reported flat earnings for the first half of the current year.

FALLING demand in Ireland and Britain reduced sales at Aryzta by 8.4%, worse than analyst expectations.

A STRONG showing from its north American operations has helped Irish-Swiss bakery group Aryzta post a strong set of full-year results, despite under-performance in its core European division.

DESPITE declining consumer spending and sentiment patterns Irish-Swiss food group Aryzta saw a 7% rise in revenue, to €2.43 billion for the nine months to the end of April.

BANKING stocks enjoyed another good day’s trading yesterday as the ISEQ index of shares in Dublin crept forward marginally by 12.12, or just under half a percent, to 2,758.31 points.

SPECIALITY food group Aryzta published first-half results on Monday that impressed the markets.

SHARES at Aryzta, the world’s biggest maker of frozen baked goods rose yesterday after the company reported a 15% rise in first-half profit to €84 million.

THE setback suffered by food giant Aryzta in Britain and Ireland, where food sales fell in the first quarter of its financial year, is hardly a big surprise.

Aryzta, the newly formed specialist bakery group, today reported full-year adjusted profit of €159.6m and revenue of €3.13bn.

THE merger of IAWS and Hiestand of Switzerland to form Aryzta, based in Switzerland, marks a significant step forward in the evolution of IAWS, which will trade for the last time today on the Irish Stock Exchange.

The Swiss takeover board has approved the method chosen by Hiestand Holding AG and the Irish company IAWS group merge the two companies, subject to approval by the respective general meetings of Hiestand and IAWS.

THE value of mergers and acquisitions involving Irish companies fell 45% to €1.6 billion in the second quarter of this year compared with the previous quarter.

ARYZTA, the company to be created by IAWS’s takeover of Hiestand, may sell a stake in Origin Enterprises to focus on its main business, according to NCB Stockbrokers.

AS the economy faces into recession those in the food sector can take comfort form the fact that people have to eat.

THE IAWS deal with Hiestand broadens the global spread of the group significantly, giving it access to markets in Japan, Malaysia and Australia, where the Swiss group has been active.

THE collapse of a hedge fund last February looks to have paved the way for the move on Hiestand by IAWS.

Cuisine de France owner IAWS has announced a €2.3bn merger with Swiss bakery firm Hiestand. The Irish company already had a 32% shareholding in Hiestand.

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.