Listeriosis shreds Tiger Brands’ profit
Half-year results show a drop of a tenth in after-tax earnings while other costs could also raise final loss figure
SA’s deadly outbreak of listeriosis in the first half of the year cut Tiger Brands’ after-tax profit by more than a tenth, says CEO Lawrence MacDougall. The outbreak, which has so far killed nearly 200 people, cost the company, one of Africa’s largest food producers, R365m. This is equivalent to 15% of headline earnings per share in the six months ended March 2018. The outbreak will cost another R50m per month. Tiger reported a 4% drop in revenue to R15.7bn on pricing competition and lower overall volumes of 1.6%. It’s “not a performance that we are proud of”, MacDougall said on Thursday. “Pricing has been fierce in the market. But the impact [of the listeriosis outbreak] has been very small on other Tiger Brand brands. “The company has so far found no reason to believe that we were not complying” with safety standards, he said. The company will “honestly and openly” resolve the “national crisis” related primarily to its Enterprise factory in Polokwane, and food safety. The share sl...
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