RCL Foods reports 65% profit drop but offers dividend

Food producer RCL Foods reported a 65.4% drop in annual headline earnings on Monday, as the Covid-19 pandemic and national lockdown impacted its final quarter.

The owner of Rainbow chicken and maker of Selati sugar said its headline earnings per share (HEPS) fell to R114.2 million ($6.89 million) for the year to June 30 from R329.5 million a year earlier.

HEPS strips out some one-off items the main profit gauge used in South Africa.

Despite a loss of R959 million for the period, the group declared a final gross cash dividend of 10 cents, bringing the total dividend declared for the year to 25.0 cents.