Astral Foods Limited - Repurchase Of Astral Foods Ordinary Shares

Astral Foods Limited - Repurchase Of Astral Foods Ordinary Shares               
Astral Foods Limited                                                            
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)                                  
(Reg. No. 1978/003194/06)                                                       
(ISIN: ZAE000029757                                                             
JSE Share code: ARL)                                                            
("Astral Foods")                                                                
REPURCHASE OF ASTRAL FOODS ORDINARY SHARES                                      
1.   INTRODUCTION                                                               
Astral Foods herewith announces the repurchase of 1 797 091 Astral Foods        
ordinary shares (4% of the issued ordinary shares) on the open market of the JSE
Limited ("JSE"), in accordance with the general authority granted by Astral     
Foods shareholders at the annual general meeting held on 16 February 2005 to    
repurchase up to 10% ("the repurchase"). Together with previous repurchases,    
shares cumulatively repurchased to date amount to 3 950 339 (being 9.1%) of the 
issued ordinary shares.                                                         
2.   IMPLEMENTATION                                                             
The repurchases of the 1 797 091 Astral Foods ordinary shares commenced on 2    
June 2005 and continued on a day-to-day basis as market conditions allowed.     
Details are as follows:-                                                        
Number of ordinary shares repurchased            1 797 091                      
Value of ordinary shares repurchased             R123 294 750                   
Highest price paid per ordinary share            R73.82                         
Lowest price paid per ordinary share             R62.75                         
Average price paid per ordinary share            R68.61                         
The number and percentage of ordinary shares                                    
which may still be repurchased by the company                                   
in terms of the general authority                399 539 (0.9%)                 
Ordinary shares in issue on 16 February 2005     43 498 780                     
Ordinary shares in issue on date of this                                        
announcement                                     44 486 313                     
3.   SOURCE OF FUNDS                                                            
Repurchases to date have been funded from available cash resources.             
4.   OPINION OF THE DIRECTORS                                                   
At the time of the granting of the general authority the directors of Astral    
Foods considered the impact of the repurchases and were of the opinion that:-   
4.1  Astral Foods and the Group will be able, in the ordinary course of         
business, to pay its debts for a period of 12 months;                           
4.2  the consolidated assets of Astral Foods and the Group are in excess of the 
consolidated liabilities, measured in accordance with the accounting policies   
used in the audited annual financial statements for the year ended 30 September 
2004;                                                                           
4.3  the ordinary share capital and consolidated reserves of Astral Foods and   
the Group will be adequate for a period of 12 months; and                       
4.4  the working capital of Astral Foods and the Group will be adequate for a   
period of 12 months.                                                            
The directors further confirm that section 5.72(a) of the JSE Listing           
Requirements has been complied with.                                            
5.   FINANCIAL EFFECTS                                                          
The effect of the repurchases on Astral Foods" earnings, headline earnings and  
net asset value (NAV) per share is illustrated below. By its nature, this       
illustration may not truly represent Astral Foods" financial position.          
Measure (in cents per    Before the   After the     Change                      
share)                   repurchase   repurchase    (%)                         
Basic earnings           392.2        398.3         +1.6%                       
Headline earnings        406.6        413.4         +1.7%                       
Diluted basic earnings   374.3        379.4         +1.4%                       
Headline earnings        388.1        393.8         +1.5%                       
Net asset value          2021         1802          -10.8%                      
Net tangible asset value 1745         1514          -13.2%                      
Notes                                                                           
Based on results for the six months ended 31 March 2005 as if the shares were   
bought back on 1 October 2004.                                                  
Earnings have been reduced with the after tax interest effect on the cash       
outflow as a result of the shares repurchased.                                  
The weighted average number of shares used in calculating the different earnings
per share figures, has been reduced with the number of shares repurchased.      
6.   JSE LISTING                                                                
These ordinary shares have been repurchased by a wholly-owned subsidiary of     
Astral Foods, thus none of the ordinary shares will be cancelled nor will the   
JSE listing in respect of those shares be terminated.                           
Pretoria                                                                        
29 August 2005                                                                  
Sponsor                                                                         
J.P. Morgan Equities Limited                                                    
Date: 29/08/2005 04:00:10 PM Supplied by www.sharenet.co.za                     
Produced by the JSE SENS Department