Johannesburg – Tiger Brands has delivered a strong set of results for the six months ended 31 March 2025.
This was achieved through a continued focus on driving value for consumers, executing key strategic priorities, and continuous improvement initiatives of logistics optimisation, value engineering, and factory efficiencies.
This result comes despite a constrained consumer environment and reflects management’s ability to drive growth in a challenging operating environment.
“Despite early signs of economic recovery offering some much-needed relief, consumers remain under pressure and continue to seek value in their food basket,” says Tjaart Kruger, CEO of Tiger Brands.
“Our revised strategy and operating model, which places the consumer at the centre of everything we do, ensures that we drive affordability consistently across the portfolio.
“While the macroeconomic environment is likely to remain challenging, the results delivered in the first half of the year demonstrate that there is real momentum in the implementation of our strategy.
“We remain focused on driving efficiencies, further improving the affordability of our products and pursuing deliberate growth platforms to ensure sustainable growth,” says Tjaart Kruger, CEO of Tiger Brands
Overall revenue was ahead of the prior year by 2% at R18.5 billion, driven by price inflation of 2.1% and relatively flat volume.
On a like-for-like basis, which excludes the impact of discontinued divisions or products, underlying volumes grew by 2.6% for the first half of the year with price inflation at 1.4%.
This volume growth was driven by Tiger Brands’ Culinary Business Unit, through deliberate volume recovery initiatives, as well as notable recovery in other categories, namely milling and baking, and snacks, treats, and beverages.
Gross margin continued its upward trajectory, increasing to 29.6% from 28.5% in the previous year on a comparable basis.
This increase was driven by naked margin expansion due to price deflation in key commodity categories, as well as factory efficiencies and value engineering savings on recipes and packaging.
Group operating income for the first half increased by 29.9% to R1.8 billion, driven by topline growth, logistics optimisation savings, and other continuous improvement initiatives.
The sale of the Baby Wellbeing business generated a R455 million non-operational profit after tax, while the after-tax profit on the disposal of associate Empresas Carozzi S.A. (Carozzi) in the first half amounted to R304 million.
The total proceeds received in respect of these transactions was R4.4 billion, with the remaining R0.6 billion received in April 2025.
Income from associates decreased by 15% to R337 million mainly as a result of the conclusion of the Empresas Carozzi SA disposal in February 2025.
The first half of the year saw significant progress being made on portfolio optimisation, continuing the momentum of non-core disposals.
“In shaping our portfolio of the future, there has been careful consideration and in-depth analysis of strategic and financial fit,” Kruger said.
Other considerations included competitive positioning, the evolving consumer, and the macroeconomic landscape to determine the categories in which Tiger Bands Brands has a sustainable competitive edge and “Right-To-Win”.
Those parts of the portfolio that were no longer considered core to the future competitiveness of the business, were also considered.
In May 2025, Tiger Brands entered into a sale of business agreement for the disposal of its Langeberg & Ashton Foods (LAF) business.
The sale, which comes five years after Tiger Brands announced its intended exit, is to a newly formed company (Newco) established by a capable and committed consortium comprised of the Ashton Fruit Producers Co-operative, as well as a development finance institution with a mandate for job creation, improving livelihoods and supporting the transition to net zero.
As part of the sale, Tiger Brands will commit R150 million towards the establishment of a Community Trust that will benefit the broader Langeberg community through socio-economic development initiatives.
The Community Trust will ultimately hold a beneficial interest equal to 10% shareholding in the NewCo, with the Consortium holding the balance of the equity.
The success of this sale will ensure the sustainability of the South African deciduous fruit industry and consequently improve the livelihoods of the Langeberg and Ashton Foods employees and the broader communities in these areas.
Tiger Brands has also made progress on the sale of its Randfontein Maize Milling operations.
With the evolution of the local maize market competitiveness and the increasing establishment of regional millers, the Maize Category was identified as no longer being core to Tiger Brands’ future.
The maize business will be sold with the Wheat Mill to facilitate a simpler and expedited transaction as they are located on the same manufacturing site.
Disposing of the Wheat Mill will aid in optimising the Tiger Brands wheat milling footprint and deliver an improved conversion cost.
On 12 May 2025, Tiger Brands announced that its lead reinsurer, QBE Insurance Group Limited, having primary conduct of the defence of the listeriosis class action against the company, has with the Company’s support and agreement, authorised the insurers’ attorneys to make settlement offers to specific named persons who suffered damage as a result of listeriosis caused by genotype L1-SL6-ST6-CT4148 of Listeria monocytogenes (or ST6).
The settlement offer, which was made to the plaintiff’s attorneys on 25 April 2025, represents a significant step toward resolution of the listeriosis litigation.
Engagements between the legal representatives of the parties are continuing to ensure timely implementation of the offer and settlement of proven or agreed compensatory damages as soon as possible.
Tiger Brands and its insurers remain committed to finding a just resolution of the listeriosis class action as soon as possible.
As previously stated, Tiger Brands has adequate product liability insurance cover for a group of its size.
The company declared an interim ordinary dividend of 415 cents per share for the six months ended 31 March 2025, as well as a special dividend of 1 216.00000 cents per share for the same period.
