Cuisine de France owner Aryzta’s sales for the first nine months of its financial year rose 23.8 per cent, driven by price increases as it dealt with inflation in its own cost base spanning from eggs to transportation.
The baked goods supplier to the likes of McDonald’s, Aldi and Lidl, which saw its centre of gravity move from Dublin to Zurich after a boardroom overhaul in 2020, said on Tuesday that organic sales rose by 24.8 per cent, fuelled by a 19.5 per cent surge in prices and 4.8 per cent increase in volumes.
Aryzta’s financial year currently runs until the end of July. However, it plans to move its accounting period to the calendar year, which will see it report results for the 17-month period to the end of 2023 early next year.
Year-on-year growth in the volume of sales of baked goods eased in recent quarters from 7.6 per cent for the three months to the end of January to 3 per cent for the period that ended in April, due to tougher comparisons a year earlier.
While some input costs have fallen back from their peak levels, volatility remains high and overall input cost prices are still above their long-term average cost, the company said.
“Inflation trends for labour, purchased services, transportation and some bakery ingredients like sugar, proteins, especially eggs continue to increase significantly, compensating reductions in other ingredients like flour and butter,” it said.
“The industry continues to face persistent inflation which necessitates pricing action. Aryzta’s disciplined costs management programmes and efficiencies measures continue to deliver to expectation, supporting margin progression.”
Group chairman and interim chief executive Urs Jordi described the company’s performance in its fiscal third quarter as “strong”.
“Our focus remains on sustaining organic growth and leveraging innovation to grow market share,” he said. “We continue to control fixed costs and improve operational efficiencies to help our customers deal with the persistent cost inflation pressures and improve performance. While we face stronger organic growth comparisons in the coming quarter, we remain on track to deliver improvements across all key metrics in line with our guidance for the period ending July 2023.”
Aryzta’s gradual shift from commoditised breads to more speciality offerings, like sourdough and walnut baguettes, are helping margins when the wider European market is more challenged, according to analysts.
The group was formed in 2008 through the merger of then IAWS in Dublin and Swiss group Hiestand.
