S.Africa's Rainbow Chicken profit surges after recovery from bird flu

South African poultry producer Rainbow Chicken said on Friday its half-year profit surged more than 14 times from the previous period following a strong recovery from the impact of the country's worst bird flu outbreak and disruptive power cuts. Rainbow posted headline earnings per share of 35.64 rand ($1.97) in the six months to December 2024, compared to 2.46 rand during the same period in 2023.

The company skipped paying a dividend, saying available free cash flows are being invested in expanding Rainbow's infrastructure as it pursues a strategy to become a market-leading, low-cost producer in South Africa. ($1 = 18.1312 rand)