Aryzta: business remaining resilient and stable

Zurich / CH. (aag) Aryzta AG, the global leader in frozen baked goods with geographic reach from North America through Europe to South East Asia and Australia, issued its first quarter Interim Management Statement. Aryzta was created in August when Ireland´s IAWS Group bought Switzerland´s Hiestand Holding AG, combining Delice de France bread with Hiestand croissants. Acquisitions at Origin Enterprises, a maker of animal-feed ingredients that´s majority-owned by Aryzta, also boosted profit in the past fiscal year. Overview:

	Food Europe*	Food North America	Food Developing Markets*	Total Food	Origin	Group
Group Revenue (million EUR)	298,7	137,4	4,7	440,8	424,7	865,5
Underlying Growth	04,2%	19,5%	05,1%	08,7%	07,8%	08,4%
Acquisitions	02,3%	,-	,-	01,6%	68,6%	26,8%
Currency	(02,0%)	(04,4%)	03,3%	(02,7%)	(04,7%)	(03,4%)
Revenue Increase	04,5%	15,1%	08,4%	07,6%	71,7%	31,8%

_{* Prepared on a pro forma basis including Hiestand Holding AG in prior year comparative.}

Revenue in the first quarter to October 25 was 865,5 million EUR, but growth had slowed in Europe, with lower volumes in the British and Irish markets, which were impacted by the financial crisis. But Food North America maintained its accelerated revenue growth with an underlying increase of 19.5 percent in the same period.

Commenting on the results, Chief Executive Officer Owen Killian said: «Food is a very resilient and stable business. We have excellent products and trusted brands combined with a strong service network. We work with our customers to be positioned in the right space and are focused on servicing the changing needs of consumers in this current economic climate. The global banking crisis poses issues for customers, suppliers and indeed primary producers who require reliable access to capital in order to fund and develop their enterprises».