Cuisine de France owner Aryzta has said that its revenue for the full year, 2020 was down 13.4%.
All of the Irish-Swiss group's territories saw a decline in the full-year period, with Europe seeing organic revenue down 12.7%, North America down 11.8% and Rest of World falling by 3.5%, its latest financial results showed.
Due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent easing of lockdown 'at varying speeds' in the company's various markets, its management took 'decisive action to maximise cash and reduce costs', which has given it a liquidity position of €424 million at year-end.
Commenting on the full year, 2020 results, Kevin Toland, chief executive officer said: "Up until 15 March trading patterns were in line with previous guidance. However, when the COVID-19 consequences became visible, we took decisive action to protect the business and our cash resources.
Toland noted that this included pausing production in bakeries to reduce capacity in line with demand, furloughing headcount, availing of government relief initiatives, suspending capital expenditure and reducing discretionary cost where possible.
"As a result we finished the year with a strong overall liquidity position. While we expect the recovery to be bumpy in the coming months, we believe that Aryzta is well-positioned to recover and compete as economies stabilise and return to growth,” he added.
'Great Potential'
Urs Jordi, chairman Aryzta AG said: “COVID-19 has had a material impact on Aryzta’s FY20 results. Nevertheless, the company has kept a strong liquidity position through the crisis and at year-end."
"We will explore all strategic options available, internal and external, acting in the best interests of Aryzta and its stakeholders, and in this process we will continue to evaluate all unsolicited expressions of interest received. I am fully convinced that Aryzta has great potential and we will do our utmost to put the company back on the road to success,” he added.
© 2020 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. Click sign-up to subscribe to Checkout.
