The company has described the 2023 financial year as “devastating” for the company. It suffered the first loss in its 23-year existence, battered by national electricity power cuts, water supply disruptions, record high input costs and South Africa’s worst outbreak of avian influenza (bird flu).
In a January update on the first quarter of the 2024 financial year, Astral gave some details of how it was normalising operations and rebuilding its balance sheet.
In a second update ahead of the 20 May announcement of first-half results, Astral anticipated that earnings per share (“EPS”) could increase by between 465% and 475% compared to the six months ended 31 March 202. That is a sizeable improvement, but it comes off the low base of a loss-making year.
No further information was supplied, so poultry industry observers will have to wait a few weeks until Astral publishes its first half results, providing details of its recovery process, and its expectations for the rest of the year.
