JOHANNESBURG - Packaged goods company Tiger Brands said on Thursday that its food revenue declined 52 percent to R1.1 billion for the year ended 30 September.
The company said it suffered abnormal losses of R422 million in this period, including the significant impact of the value-added meat products (VAMP) recall of R380 million after a listeriosis outbreak.
Tiger Brands said it also incurred an operating loss of R252 million due to the closure in early March of its VAMP facilities - which houses Enterprise, whose polony was found to be the source of listeria-related fatalities.
This as Tiger Brands' overall group revenue for the year declined by nine percent to R28.5 billion, with the group's operating income also declining by 28 percent to R3.3 billion because of various factors.
The results also reflected a depressed consumer environment as spending dipped on the back of a technical recession in South Africa in the second half of the year and a weakening rand, the company said.
The VAT increase as well as higher costs of transport and essential services also weakened consumer demand in all categories except maize, where increased supply and price deflation stimulated demand, Tiger Brands said.
Headline earnings per share (HEPS) from continuing operations suffered a 26 percent decline to 1,587 cents, down from 2,155 cents last year, while earnings per share (EPS) from continuing operations decreased by 21 percent to 1,451 cents, down from 1,848 cents last year.
Despite this, Tiger Brands maintained its final dividend at R7.02, keeping its dividend for the 2018 financial year at R10.80, the same as in the previous financial year.