LONDON — International food, ingredients and retail company Associated British Foods (ABF) Ltd. has acquired The Artisanal Group, an Australian commercial bakery business.

London-based ABF announced the deal Sept. 5 in a fiscal 2024 second-half performance update with analysts. Financial terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed.

“During the period, we completed the acquisition of The Artisanal Group, a leading manufacturer and wholesaler of high‐quality baked goods in Australia, primarily serving cafes, restaurants and hotels,” said George Weston, chief executive officer of ABF.

Products from The Artisanal Group include the bakery brands Brasserie Bread (bread, buns and rolls, pastries and cakes), Noisette (cakes, tea cakes, biscuits and macaroons) and Jaune (pastries and mooncakes).

The Artisanal Group joins ABF’s grocery business unit, which includes food and beverage brands such as Twinings (tea), Ovaltine (malted beverages and snacks), Jordans (breakfast cereals), Mazola and Capullo (cooking oils), Fleischmann’s (yeast), Karo (corn syrup), Argo (corn starch), Kingsmill (bread products), Dorset Cereal (muesli and granola), Ryvita (crispbreads) and Silver Spoon and Billington’s (sugar).

“Grocery has continued to perform well and we expect sales growth to be around 3% in H2, reflecting good demand for our leading international and regionally‐focused brands,” Weston said in the update for the second half, which ends Sept. 14. “Overall, we expect grocery profitability in H2 to be slightly ahead of our previous expectations and now in line with H2 FY23.”

ABF’s grocery unit also includes George Weston Foods Ltd., one of Australia and New Zealand’s largest food manufacturers, with such brands as Tip Top (bread products), Mauri (baking ingredients), Don (meat products) and Yumi’s (hummus, dips, condiments and snacks).

“Our Australia and New Zealand‐focused brands have remained resilient in a challenging consumer environment,” Weston said.

Other ABF business units include ABF Ingredients (yeast, bakery and other food ingredients, including AB Mauri), ABF Sugar (sugar cane and sugar beets), AB Agri (agricultural products and services) and the Primark apparel and accessories retail chain.

“In grocery, we will continue to drive sales momentum, underpinned by increased marketing investment,” Weston said of ABF’s fiscal 2025 outlook. “We expect to see the full-year effect of the profit normalization in our US‐focused brands. In ingredients, we expect continued growth in yeast and bakery ingredients and improved growth in specialty ingredients.