Aryzta said favorable currency movements contributed 9.8 percentage points of the growth, while a small bolt-on acquisition added 1.2 points. The acquisition is expected to accelerate Aryzta’s transition to fewer larger multi-product facilities in North America, the company said.
“The focus in North America is also on leveraging the Aryzta North America transformation to deliver further growth, as a result of the aligned business,” the company said.
Total Food Group sales rose 8% during the quarter to €747.5 million ($974.8 million), while Total Group sales climbed 9% to €1,098.7 million ($1,432.8 million).
“Our performance during the period was satisfactory, given that the global trading environment remains very challenging and has not improved since our year-end results announcement in September,” said Owen Killian, chief executive officer. “As previously highlighted, FY 2013 will be another year of substantial transformation and reorganization for Aryzta.”
Aryzta, which is in the final phase of its transformation, also announced several personnel changes within the company. Patrick McEniff, group chief financial officer, has added the responsibility of chief operating officer and will begin to develop the local management structures to facilitate the communication of the food and bakery innovation capability within Aryzta.
Additionally, John Yamin, c.e.o. of Aryzta North America, has been named president and global food officer. In this newly created role, Mr. Yamin will lead food innovation and engineering, marketing and brand management, global and strategic customer relations, human capital development, and corporate responsibility and sustainability.
