Astral scratching around for consolidation targets
Astral Foods, the Big Bird of the JSE’s poultry sector, was ready to swoop on consolidation opportunities in an embattled industry where margins have been shredded by increased inflows of imported chicken and higher feed costs. Speaking after the release of results to end-September on Monday, Astral CEO Chris Schutte said there had been about a dozen casualties among medium-sized poultry players in the past three years, including a company that had been operating for 35 years. "There’s still going to be a lot of contraction in the poultry sector. We support consolidation in the industry," he said. Given the state of the poultry industry, cutbacks in local broiler production were imminent, said Schutte. "Under these circumstances, Astral will continue to assess consolidation opportunities as they arise. There are not many opportunities, but we do have something we are looking at." Despite a dismal operating performance, Astral still has a robust balance sheet. Chief financial officer...
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