Aryzta shares jump as Urs Jordi to become permanent chief executive

DCM Editorial Summary: This story has been independently rewritten and summarised for DCM readers to highlight key developments relevant to the region. Original reporting by Irish Times, click this post to read the original article.

Aryzta’s shares jumped on Monday as the baked goods group issued solid annual results and cleared up questions over its leadership by confirming that chair Urs Jordi, who led a business turnaround over the past five years, will become permanent chief executive next spring.

Jordi again took on the additional role of interim chief executive in October after Michael Schai quit as the top executive after only nine months. Investor advisory firms had previously voiced concerns over how Jordi had held a dual chairman-chief executive role for over four years before Schai was hired.

Aryzta, owner of the Cuisine de France brand in the Republic, said that group’s aim now is to find a new non-executive chairman, to be proposed to shareholders at its 2027 annual general meeting.

“From that date, Urs Jordi will continue his work for Aryzta by assuming the role of permanent CEO,” said the group, which also said it plans to move its headquarters from Zurich to Zug.

Shares in Aryzta were up 6 per cent during lunchtime trading in Zurich, bringing their advance so far this year to more than 15 per cent.

Aryzta, formed in 2008 through the merger of Dublin-based IAWS and Swiss bakery group Hiestand, saw its centre of gravity move from Ireland to Switzerland in 2020 following a boardroom coup that saw Jordi installed as chairman.

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Jordi’s reboot has included the sale of unwanted assets, including Aryzta’s former problem North American business and Brazilian unit, reduction of debt and a greater focus on innovation in baked products.

Furthermore, he has redeemed most of the expensive hybrid debt-equity instruments weighing down its balance sheet, and plans to repurchase the remaining 144.3 million Swiss francs (€157.9 million) of these notes this year.

Clarity over the future leadership of the company came as Aryzta reported that its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) declined by 4.4 per cent to €306.9 million – meeting market expectations – as its margins were squeezed by rising costs, especially for labour. Revenues for the year rose 1.3 per cent higher to €2.22 billion.

Berenberg analyst Chiara Di Giammaria said she expects consensus earnings estimates for this year and next to rise by 2-3 per cent after Aryzta reiterated its medium-term financial targets and said it expects to post “mid-single-digit” percentage organic sales growth and earnings improvement.

“With the fully-year 2026 framework reaffirmed and the mid-term ambition unchanged, we continue to view the equity story as one of a maturing turnaround, where execution on growth/innovation and disciplined cost delivery should support a gradual re-rating over time,” said Juan Ros-Padilla, an analyst with Oddo-BHF in Spain. A re-rating occurs when that market is prepared to value a company at a higher multiple relative to earnings.