Falling sales and profits from food and drink has weighed on annual profits at South African conglomerate AVI.
The company yesterday (6 September) booked a 7.8% drop in net profit to ZAR468.2m (US$64.3m) for the year to the end of June.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
AVI, which sells clothing and footwear alongside food brands like I&J frozen seafood and Bakers biscuits, said operating profit before capital items from its food and beverage division was down 4.1% during the year to ZAR695.4m.
The group’s Snackworks unit, which includes its biscuits business, saw operating profit rise 20.9%. However, its chilled and frozen convenience division saw profits fall 53.9% on the back of a reduction in catch size.
The company’s group operating profit before capital items stood at ZAR941m, up 3.6%.
Revenue from continuing operations from AVI’s food and beverage business dipped 0.2% to ZAR6.04bn despite a “stronger” second half from Snackworks, the company said. AVI’s group revenue was up 2.3% at ZAR7.63bn.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataThe company’s headline earnings per share, a much-analysed financial metric for South African companies, was up 6.4% at ZAR183.6, leading the company to pay out a special dividend of ZAR0.75.
“In view of AVI’s current low gearing and ongoing strong cash generation the board has proposed a specific payment to shareholders out of share premium of 75 cents per share for approval at the annual general meeting in October,” AVI said.
