Country Bird Holdings, South Africa's third-largest poultry producer, has predicted another improvement in performance for the year to 30 June next year, after it lifted profit by a whopping 161 per cent to 123 million rand (ZAR) in the past year.

According to Business Day, operating profit increased 81 per cent to ZAR221 million, compared with ZAR122 million the previous year, due mainly to a good performance by the poultry and feed sectors locally and abroad. A capital distribution of 10.84 cents per share was declared.

The group, whose brands include Supreme Poultry and Nutri Feeds, and which has poultry breeding, broiler and stock feed operations in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia, said revenue rose 16 per cent to ZAR2.8 billion.

Gross profit increased 30 per cent to ZAR357 million after accounting for a 15 per cent rise in cost of sales, which was in turn attributable to volume growth. Its South African poultry division lifted volumes sold by 11 per cent, which, with a four per cent reduction in the cost of feed, tight cost controls and better efficiency, resulted in a 58 per cent improvement in divisional operating profit to ZAR142 million.

In the other African operations, revenue rose due to volume growth in Zambia and Botswana.