Shares in Switzerland-based bakery group ARYZTA jumped today (30 September) after the company booked annual underlying profits above analyst expectations.
The company, which supplies bakery products to retailers and foodservice outlets, posted an 11.5% fall in net profit to EUR129.4m (US$108.1m) for the year to the end of July. Arytza’s bottom line was affected by items including tax costs on an asset write-down and integration costs.
However, underlying fully diluted net profit of EUR319.1m for the year to the end of July, was up 9.6% on the year. EBITA climbed 7.1% to EUR475.6m. Revenue grew 7% to EUR4.5bn.
Aryzta’s food group division, the bulk of its business, posted an 8.8% increase in underlying net profit to EUR268.4m. EBITA grew 8.5%. Revenue increased 7.6% to EUR3.09bn.
Kepler Cheuvreux analyst Christoph Ladner, who has a ‘buy’ rating on Aryzta’s shares, said the 1.3% organic rise in the food division’s sales was above an 0.6% expected increase. Ladner also said earnings per share from its division were above its expectations.
During the year, Aryzta saw its underlying fully diluted earnings per share increase by 6.8% to 360.3 cent. It forecast “double-digit” growth for the new financial year.
Shares in Aryzta were up 5.68% at CHF61.40 at 11:27 CET.
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