ASTRAL FOODS LIMITED - General trading update

General trading update

Astral Foods Limited
("Astral Foods" or “Astral”)
Registration number: 1978/003194/06
JSE Code: ARL ISIN: ZAE000029757

General trading update


In line with the outlook published in our 2016 financial year
results on 21 November 2016, trading for the first quarter ended
31 December 2016 was negatively impacted by the following:

  -   weakened consumer spending;
  -   lower kilograms sold mainly as a result of the new brining
      regulations;
  -   high maize and soya meal prices that will continue up to
      May 2017 when the new harvest season starts; and
  -   continuously high levels of imported poultry, not impacted
      by the safeguard duty implemented as recommended by
      International Trade Administration Commission of South
      Africa (ITAC).

In addition to the above, Astral introduced planned production
cutbacks in order to alleviate the pressure on the overstocked
poultry levels.

Shareholders are advised that the operating profit for the first
quarter was 70% lower than the corresponding period. This
decline was expected given the reasons provided above and
indications are that trading conditions that gave rise to this
lower profitability, will continue well into 2017.

Based on the first quarter’s results and the continuation of the
current unfavourable trading conditions, both the earnings per
share (EPS) and headline earnings per share (HEPS) are expected
to be down not more than 75% on the results for the previous
year’s comparative period. This implies that both the EPS and
the HEPS for the six months to March 2017 is expected to be at
least 194 cents per share (2016: EPS 777 cents per share and
HEPS 774 cents per share).

A trading statement on the results for the first half of the
2017 financial year will be released once a more definite range
of the expected earnings can be provided.

It is expected that the interim results for the six months to 31
March 2017 will be published on 15 May 2017.
The information on which this general trading update is based
has not been reviewed or reported on by Astral Foods’ auditors.




Pretoria
6 February 2017

Sponsor
JP Morgan Equities South Africa (Pty) Ltd

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