Swiss bakery group Aryzta is to move into another European market with a €40m ($46.8m) investment in Portugal.
Publicly listed Aryzta plans to build the bun plant near Lisbon over a two-year period starting this year, with the plant expected to be fully operational in 2028.
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“Combined with Aryzta’s existing bun bakery in Spain, the new facility is expected to deliver significant optimisation of supply chains and customer service levels across the Iberian Peninsula, while also contributing to operational carbon-footprint reductions,” the company said in a trading update ahead of its final 2025 results due on 2 March.
A spokesperson for the bread, rolls, buns and laminated bakery products manufacturer confirmed the Portugal site will mainly supply quick-service restaurants, or QSR.
Aryzta is already a supplier of buns to the fast-food chain McDonald’s, although the spokesperson did not name the end customer.
Under the tutelage of interim CEO and chairman Urs Jordi, Aryzta said today (22 January) that it has “taken decisive actions to reposition the business for profitable growth and improved performance for 2026”.
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By GlobalDataAryzta began a round of assets disposals to reduce a debt pile in 2020 under Kevin Toland, who then departed as CEO the same year. Michael Schai took the helm in January last year but then suddenly stepped down in October.
The divestitures began with the sale of its take-and-bake pizza business in North America to US-based private-equity firm Brynwood Partners at the end of 2020, followed by its exit from frozen food retailer Picard in 2021.
Bell Food Group then acquired Aryzta’s Hilcona sandwich business, while Mexico-based Grupo Bimbo bought its assets in Brazil in 2021.
Schai then took over in January last year with the aim to right-size the business, return to organic growth and to further cut debt.
“Despite a continued subdued consumer environment, Aryzta expects to deliver further positive organic growth in 2026,” the bake-off specialist said today.
“This outlook is supported by the successful conclusion of key customer negotiations and the progressive ramp-up of new production lines in Germany, Malaysia and Switzerland.”
The Aryzta spokesperson confirmed the new line at the Malaysian site in Pulah Indau became operational in the final quarter of fiscal 2024, producing laminated bakery products.
The Swiss laminated line in Dagmersellen came on-stream in the second quarter of 2025 followed by a new artisanal bakery line in Germany in Eisleben in the third quarter.
In today’s trading update, Aryzta said it expects to report mid-single-digit organic growth for the year, along with an EBITDA print above €305m.
Revenue in 2024 was €2.2bn, representing organic sales of minus 0.2% but growth of 0.1% on a reported basis.
EBITDA rose 5.4% to €320.9m, while net profit edged up to €129.6m from €125.7m a year earlier.
“Under its group-wide efficiency initiatives, Aryzta is making good progress in implementing significant organisational changes, cost reductions, as well as optimising its fixed cost structure to further improve business performance,” the company said today.
Chairman and acting CEO Jordi added: “We achieved a resilient performance in 2025. Over the past three months, management has taken focused actions on accelerating revenue growth, structural changes and cost reduction.
“These measures reposition the business to deliver further growth and improved performance in 2026. At the same time, we continue to invest selectively in growth, as evident in the new investment in Portugal, which reflects the company’s strong track record in meeting customer needs.”
