Aryzta, the food group formed by a merger in 2008 of IAWS and Swiss bakery group Heistand, says its group revenues for the six months to the end of January rose by 36 per cent to €1.89 billion, reported RTÉ News.

Group earnings before interest and tax, increased by 52 per cent to €173.1m while earnings per share increased by 34% to 140.3 cent.

The company said the speed and severity of food raw material price increases was unexpected and was a major focus in the business.

"In such an inflationary environment, bakery plays an important role in a food menu or basket and provides an innovate value proposition for consumers," commented Aryzta's chief executive Owen Killian.

Aryzta's food division saw its revenues rise by 60% to €1.28 billion. In Europe, food revenues rose by 10%, while in North America food revenues soared 140% while food sales in the rest of the world jumped 591%.