Aryzta has reported a 9% increase in first-quarter revenue but the Swiss bakery group said that its business continues to be affected by weak consumer spending.
Aryzta benefited from positive currency translations during the period and has maintained its full-year profit forecast of 5-10% growth in underlying earnings per share.
The firm posted revenue of €1.09 billion in the period ending 31 October and underlying revenue was up 1.7%. Acquisitions and disposals added 0.9% to revenue and the currency exchange benefit was 6.4%.
Revenue for Aryzta’s core food business was up 7.9% to €747.5 million as the company reported a slight sales increase in both its European and North American operations. Currency fluctuations in North America had a positive impact of 9.8% but weak consumer spending continued to inhibit growth in Europe.
"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, Aryzta’s chief executive.
“Based on the Q1 performance, we continue to view the outlook and guidance issued with our 2012 full-year results as valid.''
