Astral Foods - Repurchase Of Astral Foods Ordinary Shares

Astral Foods - 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 1 206 140 Astral Foods        
ordinary shares (2.7% 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 15           
February 2006 to repurchase in this financial year up to 20% ("the              
repurchase"). Together with previous repurchases, shares cumulatively           
repurchased to date amount to 6 664 886 (being 15%) of the issued ordinary      
shares as at 15 February 2006.                                                  
2.  IMPLEMENTATION                                                              
The repurchases of the 1 206 140 Astral Foods ordinary shares commenced on      
1 June 2006 and continued on a day-to-day basis as market conditions            
allowed.                                                                        
Details are as follows:-                                                        
Number of ordinary shares repurchased        1 206 140                          
Value of ordinary shares repurchased         R107 408 000                       
Highest price paid per ordinary share        R105.48                            
Lowest price paid per ordinary share         R77.27                             
Average price paid per ordinary share        R89.05                             
The number and percentage of ordinary shares                                    
which may still be repurchased by the company                                   
in terms of the current general authority    6 189 436(14%)                     
Ordinary shares in issue on 15 February 2006  44 519 913                        
Ordinary shares in issue on date of this                                        
announcement  43 504 969                                                        
3.  SOURCE OF FUNDS                                                             
Repurchases to date have been funded from available cash resources.             
4.  OPINION OF THE DIRECTORS                                                    
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 2006;                                                              
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 to accommodate, in terms of the general authority, a      
repurchase of a further 3% of the issued share capital of Astral Foods.         
The directors further confirm that section 5.72(a) of the JSE Listing           
Requirements has been complied with.                                            
5.  FINANCIAL EFFECTS                                                           
The financial information below is included for the purposes of indicating      
the effect of the repurchases on Astral Foods` earnings, headline earnings      
and net asset value (NAV) per share as illustrated below. The directors of      
the Company are responsible for the financial information below.   The          
information is for illustrative purposes only and by its nature may not         
fairly represent the Company`s financial position, changes in equity,           
results of operations or cash flows.                                            
Measure (in cents per   Before the   After the    Change                        
share)                  repurchase   repurchase   (%)                           
Basic earnings            1 281        1 314       +2                           
Headline earnings         1 282        1 314       +2                           
Diluted basic earnings    1 264        1 296       +2                           
Headline earnings         1 265        1 296       +2                           
Net asset value           2 942        2 748       -7                           
Net tangible asset        2 631        2 428       -8                           
value                                                                           
Notes                                                                           
1.  The "Before the repurchase" numbers are based on the results for the 12     
months ended on  30 September 2006, excluding the after tax interest effect     
on earnings as a result of the shares bought back since the date of the         
previous announcement, 1 June 2006.                                             
2.  The "After the repurchase" numbers are based on the results of the 12       
months ended on 30 September 2006, adjusted for the after tax interest          
effect on earnings as if all the shares were bought back on 1 June 2006.        
3.  The weighted average number of shares used in calculating the different     
earnings per share figures, has been adjusted with the number of shares         
repurchased.                                                                    
6.  JSE LISTING                                                                 
The 1 206 140 ordinary shares have been purchased by the company and            
application to cancel the JSE listing in respect of these ordinary shares       
will be made.                                                                   
Pretoria                                                                        
11 December 2006                                                                
Sponsor                                                                         
J.P. Morgan Equities Limited                                                    
Date: 11/12/2006 17:07:04 Supplied by www.sharenet.co.za                     
Produced by the JSE SENS Department.