RFG exports get a second bite

Food producer RFG on Monday said full-year profit would rise by more than half on the back of higher sales and the acquisition of the Today pie business. “The international division experienced robust growth in export volumes due to higher global demand for canned fruit and fruit purée products” after poor performance a year earlier, RFG said.

Food producer RFG on Monday said full-year profit would rise by more than half on the back of higher sales and the acquisition of the Today pie business.

The owner of Bull Brand corned beef, Hinds spices and Bisto gravies expects headline earnings per share, which strips out impairments and one-off items, to soar 54%-59% to between 135.4c and 139.8c for the 53 weeks to October 2.

“The international division experienced robust growth in export volumes due to higher global demand for canned fruit and fruit purée products” after poor performance a year earlier, RFG said in a trading statement.

The segment also benefited from a weaker rand relative to the group’s basket of trading currencies, it said.

The regional business, which includes SA and other SubSaharan countries, was affected by higher input costs — mainly canned meat, canned vegetables and pies — resulting in lower volumes and profitability.

“The group was not able to fully recover these cost increases which adversely impacted the operating profit margin of the regional segment, although the margin started to recover in the latter months of the financial year,” said JSE-listed RFG, which is valued at R2.76bn.

The annual performance was affected by a one-off R25.7m cost relating to the acquisition of the Today pie business, though the group received an insurance settlement of R43.4m for losses sustained during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.

The company is scheduled to publish results on November 23.