JSE-listed food producer Libstar reported on Thursday that its full-year profit margins came under pressure with the owner of Denny mushrooms and Lancewood cheese being hit by escalating inflationary and load shedding costs.
By Reuters Staff
2 Min Read
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African food producer Libstar Holdings Ltd reported a 13.1% drop in full-year operating profit on Wednesday, hit by expenses of 65 million rand ($4.37 million) related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Libstar, producer of Denny mushrooms and Lancewood dairy products, said normalised operating profit fell to 774 million rand in the 12 months ended Dec. 31 from 890 million rand a year earlier.
Normalised headline earnings per share from continuing operations fell 13.8% to 71.3 cents.
The expenses were related to donations to needy communities, personnel-related expenses and costs of personal protective equipment. Including other items, operating expenses increased by 22.0% to 2.1 billion rand, Libstar said.