THE IRISH chief executive of Swiss-based food group Aryzta received a compensation package totalling €3.9 million this year, new figures show.

Aryzta’s annual report, published yesterday morning, shows a decline in the salary of Owen Killian from €7 million last year to €3.9 million this year.

Mr Killian was paid a basic salary of 1.27 million Swiss francs (€1.1 million), on top of which he received a bonus payment of €750,000 and an award of 2.2 million Swiss francs (€1.8 million) under the company’s long-term incentive plan.

Formed from the merger between Irish food group IAWS and Swiss baker Hiestand, Aryzta began trading in August 2008, when Mr Killian’s role as chief executive of IAWS transformed into chief executive of Aryzta.

The company reported pretax profits of €444.1 million in the year to the end of July, 12.9 per cent higher than the same period 12 months earlier. Revenue at the baked goods’ producer rose by 8.5 per cent to €4.21 billion.