Rainbow Chicken rebounds with profit surge, cautions on bird flu impact

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Despite this recovery, the company warned of the potential for further outbreaks, citing slow progress in the government's vaccination campaign due to costly monitoring and testing requirements.

The South African Poultry Association has called for government subsidies for vaccinations and compensation for farmers who incurred losses during the previous outbreak.

"The threat of Avian Influenza during the winter months is real," Rainbow said in its financial results statement.

"South Africa is yet to find an optimal response to this threat with specific reference to compensation and vaccination strategy," the poultry products producer said.

Rainbow posted R317.6m ($17.51m) in headline earnings for the six months through December 2024, compared to 21.9 million rand during the same period in 2023.

It skipped paying a dividend in favour of investing available free cash flow in expanding its infrastructure as it works to become a market-leading, low-cost producer.

The company, which produces poultry products under the Rainbow, Simply Chicken and Farmer Brown brands, was split off from RCL Foods and listed separately in June.