Aryzta has reported a 0.7% hike in organic revenue in the past six months – and claimed it has made its first step towards a turnaround.

The company has been through a turbulent period recently that has included a shake-up of its senior management and the sale of its Cloverhill, La Rousse and Signature Flatbreads businesses.

Following a business review, the company developed a plan focused on the frozen bakery market that includes the Project Renew cost reduction programme, designed to bring €200m (£177m) in savings over a three-year period. It also recently completed a €740m (£630m) capital raise.

In its financial results for the six months ended 31 January 2019, the company today (12 March) said Project Renew had been delivering the expected level of savings, although underlying net profit was down 22.5% year on year to €39.5m (£33.7m), with underlying EBITDA down 6% to €151.6m (£129.4m).

Organic revenue from its European business was up 1.9%, with North America organic revenue down 1.8% and rest of world organic revenue up 6.7%.

“The result in H1 2019 is consistent with our focus on stability,” said Aryzta chief executive officer Kevin Toland. “This performance represents a first step towards the delivery of our multi-year turnaround commitment.”

“We are developing a unified, cohesive group with a singular focus on our core strengths within a growing frozen B2B bakery market. Project Renew will enhance both our operating efficiency and our competitive position and in H1 2019 already delivered the expected level of savings.”