COMPANY RESULTS – Astral Foods incurs R741m in load-shedding costs and counting

GUEST – Gary Arnold, Astral Foods Chief Operating Officer<br /> <br /> SA’s largest poultry producer Astral incurred R741m in load-shedding related costs in the six months to end-March, putting its balance sheet under significant strain. Investors reacted negatively to the results, with the share price falling 8% to R155.80 in its biggest one-day decline since late October, giving Astral a market valuation R6.6bn. The erratic power supply coincided with record-high feed costs to squeeze its profits during the reporting period, though Astral expects conditions to improve in the second half of the financial year as feed costs start to moderate. <a href="http://www.kayafm.co.za/">Kaya FM </a>