Company Watch

Aryzta chief coy on dividend after profit of €45.6 million

Aryzta, which owns the Cuisine de France brand in Ireland, has faced severe difficulties in recent years since its share price began a precipitous fall in the middle of 2015 wiping billions off the value of the company

Urs Jordi, interim chief executive of Aryzta: ‘The best value for our shareholders is improving the balance sheet and using cash to reduce leverage’

Urs Jordi, the interim chief executive of Aryzta, was coy last week about when the food group might return a dividend to shareholders after announcing profits of €45.6 million.

He told the Business Post that the question of shareholder dividends comes up frequently, as the baked goods manufacturer has not returned one since 2014. “The best value for our shareholders is improving the balance sheet and using cash to reduce leverage,” Jordi said.

Aryzta, which ...