Aryzta shares plunge after profit warning

Shares in the Irish-Swiss food group Aryzta, which owns the Cuisine de France brand, plummeted by as much as 26 per cent this morning following a profit warning from the company.

Aryzta said that underlying earnings per share fell by about 20 per cent in the five months through December and the company expects profit in the year ending July to show a similar impact.

"The performance in the current period is both unexpected and extremely disappointing,"chief executive Owen Killian said. "We know that it will take a recovery followed by a period of sustainable growth to re-establish investor confidence."