A third South African poultry company has announced that is on the road to recovery after the disastrous outbreaks of bird flu last year led to massive cost increases, turning profits into losses.
Three poultry companies are listed on the Johannesburg stock exchange.
Astral, the country’s largest poultry producer, and Quantum, the largest egg producer, have already indicated that earnings will be higher this year. They have also warned that another serious bird flu outbreak could reverse the slow progress being made.
More good news has come from RCL Foods, owner of Rainbow, South Africa’s second largest chicken producer. In a brief trading statement ahead of the company’s financial year end, RCL said it expected headline earnings per share for the year to end June to be at least 75% higher than the previous year, and earnings per share to be at least 125% above the previous year.
The expected improvement was driven largely by Rainbow and the company’s grocery division, RCL stated. Full details will be given in the company’s annual results announcement on 2 September.
Rainbow is being spun out of RCL and will be listed separately on the JSE this week.
