Astral Foods’ first-half earnings to fall as much as 60%

Poultry producer Astral Foods expects headline earnings to fall as much 60% at the halfway stage as selling prices for frozen chicken remain under pressure.

The group said on Monday that it expected headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the six months to end-March to decrease by between 50% and 60% compared with the previous year. This will result in HEPS of between 354c and 442c compared with 884c a year ago.

Earnings per share (EPS) were expected to be 45%- 55% lower, it said.

Though no reasons were given in Monday’s trading statement, the group advised in March in a voluntary trading update that selling price deflation on chicken would continue to place severe pressure on broiler net margins.

A constrained consumer environment and extensive retail promotional activity on frozen chicken had put pressure on selling prices for the six months to end-March, it said previously.

This, along with an increase in poultry feed input costs following the drought of 2024 and higher local maize prices, would result in first-half earnings being lower than the strong set of results for the period to end-March 2024.

The group reported previously that it had experienced a cybersecurity incident in March that affected the poultry division’s deliveries to customers.

At 9.30am on the JSE, Astral’s shares were down 5.1% at R166.06.

Astral will release its interim results on May 19.

mackenziej@arena.africa