South Africa’s largest chicken producer ready for a major win
Astral Foods, South Africa’s largest poultry producer, expects its earnings per share to nearly double in its upcoming financial results.
The company shared its expected earnings for the financial year in a trading update published on the Stock Exchange News Service (SENS) on 29 October 2026.
The group said that it forecasts its earnings per share for the year ended 30 September to be between 4,324 cents and 4,552 cents, a 90% to 100% increase from the prior year.
The company expects similar growth in its Headline Earnings Per Share (HEPS), which a 95%-105% increase.
Its HEPS is forecast between 4,277 and 4,496 cents, significantly higher than 2,193 cents in its prior financial year.
Astral noted several drivers behind the anticipated improvements, including favourable international commodity prices and increased production volumes.
It said lower global prices for maize and soya resulted in lower feed costs for its poultry and noted an increase in internal feed sales.
The increase in sales was attributed to higher broiler production volumes, which also led to higher external feed sales volumes.
It said that improved efficiency in its poultry farming benefited production costs, along with lower feed prices.
Improved sales realisations were also noted as a contributor to the company’s performance, alongside improved production.
“Poultry sales realisations improved, supported by volume growth in higher-margin segments of the
sales mix,” Astral Foods said.
The group owns and operates several notable subsidiaries, including County Fair, Festive, and Mountain Valley, which are all involved in the poultry processing and sales industry.
The company has a market cap of roughly R8.8 billion, with a share price of 20,284 cents as of 28 October 2026, when markets closed.
Since its trading update was published, the company’s share price has risen by roughly 1.3% to 20,548 cents as of 11 AM.
The company is expecting to release its full financial results for the 2026 financial year on Monday, 23 November 2026.
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