Rainbow’s current owners, RCL Foods, announced in a pre-listing statement that it would unbundle Rainbow to RCL shareholders, and that Rainbow shares would be listed separately on the JSE from 26 June 2024.
The Rainbow name disappeared from the JSE after RCL acquired Foodcorp in 2012, and changed the listed name to RCL Foods the following year.
Now Rainbow is coming back, considerably strengthened after some turbulent years.
RCL said earlier this year that Rainbow had made considerable progress with its turnaround. The final phase of the ramp-up of production at the Hammarsdale plant, and the continued benefits of a breed change, were expected to make a positive impact in the future, RCL said.
In an interview with Business Maverick, Rainbow MD Marthinus Stander said the company’s focus was on getting everything right so that it could produce chicken at the least cost.
Stander described the chicken industry as the “dynamo” of South Africa’s agricultural sector, consuming almost half of the country’s maize crop. He said it ranked high on international competitiveness ratings, but exports were lagging, particularly to Europe, due to the government’s limited ability to provide the health certifications needed.
“We need more from our Department of Agriculture. So I think our best bet and our real reason for being is to try to supply South Africans with the cheapest possible chicken and export strategically,” he said.
