Sales at Cuisine de France owner Aryzta fell more than 2 per cent to €1.06 billion, new results for the group show.
The company’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation also took a 7 per cent hit to fall to €139.9 million in the first six months of the year.
Chairman and interim group chief executive Urs Jordi said the year has been “challenging” for the company, but it is on course to resume capital distributions to investors later this year following a 10-year pause.
Half-year results released by the company said the firm recorded solid growth outside of Europe, but a weak performance in Germany was a drag on the period with revenues down 3.4 per cent to €942.7 million.
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The company said Germany was its “most challenged market” due to high price sensitivity and fragile consumer spending. “We are reviewing all options for Germany to maximise shareholder value,” Jordi said.
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He added the first six months of the year was a “challenging” period and Aryzta has put in place cost measures to protect profitability.
“These measures are delivering attractive savings and, together with good visibility on our key input costs, support our confidence in achieving our profitability guidance for the full year,” Jordi added.
The company said this savings drive, called Project Excellence, would be aggressively pursued in Germany. Aryzta has targeted €20 million to €30 million in net savings by 2028 through this project.
In markets outside Europe, revenue was up 2.7 per cent to €121.2 million, with Ebitda of €23.3 million in the period representing a margin of 19.2 per cent.
The group’s margin was 13.2 per cent in the first half of 2026, down 0.7 per cent. The decline was linked to the absorption of €5.4 million worth of one-time costs.
“Further optimisation costs will be incurred in [the second half of the year]. Savings generated by these measures are in line with expectations,” the company said.
Jordi also confirmed in his statement that following the repurchase of the final remaining hybrid bond, Aryzta plans to ask shareholders to approve the resumption of capital returns at the 2027 annual general meeting.
He said the resumption of capital distributions following a decade-long pause has reflected the “progress made in rebuilding a resilient business capable of generating a sustainable cash flow”.
Distributions are expected to be made through dividends, share buy-backs, or a combination of both.
