Pioneer expects solid recovery from last year’s torrid first half
Earnings rose as much as 32%, and although revenue dipped, sales volumes rose and market share of some if its main brands either grew or was stable
Pioneer Foods expects a much better first-half performance than last year, when it was affected by an unfavourable maize procurement position taken in 2016, when SA was in the grip of a devastating drought. Adjusted headline earnings per share (HEPS) — which include the effect of an empowerment transaction — are expected to rise by between 22% and 32% in the six months to end-March 2018, compared with the year-earlier period, it said in a trading update on Thursday. Adjusted HEPS fell 47% in the first half of 2017. The 2016 maize procurement position was taken to ensure supply through the drought. But the situation has normalised since then, with SA harvesting a record maize crop in 2017, and grain prices dropping as a result, leading to lower input costs for food producers. Pioneer had said in its 2017 interim results statement that the "margin drag on maize" would cease from June 2017. On Thursday, the company said in its Sens statement that group turnover fell 2.8% to R9.9bn, lar...
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