The half-year report by Tiger Brands reflected difficult trading conditions, the advent of COVID-19, problems with exports and investments in Nigeria. For the period ending March 31st 2020 the Company earned $19.7* million on revenue of $893 million. Comparable figures for the half-year ended March 31st 2019 were net earnings of $81.3 million on revenue of $875 million. EPS fell from $0.44 to $0.28.
Tiger Brands posted a $31 million impairment on export businesses and investments in UAC Foods in Nigeria and also on a deciduous fruit operation. Tiger Brands traded from a fifty-two-week high of $1,421 in November 2019 to a low of $817, closing at $881 on May 25th.
Tiger Brands (TBS-ZA) has a market cap of $1.65 billion and trades with a forward P/E of 14.
The company faces a series of liability lawsuits arising from the extensive outbreak of listeriosis in South Africa. Between January 2017 and July 2018 South Africa recorded 1,060 laboratory-confirmed cases of listeriosis including 216 fatalities attributed to a sausage plant owned by Tiger Brands.
* U.S. currency. Conversion ZAR17.6 = U.S.$1