RCL Foods's earnings fall from 17,3c to 4.7c

RCL Foods reported a strong drop in earnings for the six months to December. Image: ddpavumba Free Digital Photos

The results for the six months ended December included Foodcorp‚ which was not in the comparative period in the previous year.

In November last year RCL Foods announced the acquisition of TSB Sugar RSA and TSB Sugar International (TSB) from TSB Sugar Holdings.

The company has been on a drive to build a diversified food business following the acquisition of Foodcorp in April last year and a joint venture in Zambia with Zambeef‚ also last year.

The company said it had delivered a reasonable trading performance amid tough conditions and constrained consumer spending, which slowed to its lowest level in five years during the reporting period.

Revenue from continuing operations for the six months for Foodcorp was R3.976bn‚ an increase of 5.9% over the comparable (unaudited) period in 2012.

RCL Foods' revenue for the six months to December increased by 95.1% to R8.8bn‚ largely because of the inclusion of Foodcorp's results.