Astral Foods CEO recovering from accident

Poultry producer Astral Foods Limited (Astral) said on Monday that its chief executive, Chris Schutte, had an accident on Saturday and that at this stage, the recovery period was unknown. Photo: Simphiwe Mbokazi

Poultry producer Astral Foods Limited (Astral) said on Monday that its chief executive, Chris Schutte, had an accident on Saturday and that at this stage, the recovery period was unknown. Photo: Simphiwe Mbokazi

Published Sep 21, 2020

Share

JOHANNESBURG - Poultry producer Astral Foods Limited (Astral) said on Monday that its chief executive, Chris Schutte, had an accident on Saturday and that at this stage, the recovery period was unknown.

It said Astral’s competent executive management team was in place to deal with all relevant operational matters and Daan Ferreira, Astral’s chief financial oficer, would be the central contact person during Schutte’s absence.

"Astral’s Board extends its best wishes to Chris Schutte and his family during this time, and requests that all communication in this regard be addressed via the Astral Corporate Office. Chris Schutte’s return to office will be communicated at an appropriate time", the company said in a statement.

Astral said the accident occured during a motorcycle trip in celebration of Schutte's upcoming 60th birthday while on leave.

"The incident occurred on a dirt road in a remote area in the Great Karoo. Chris was airlifted to a medical facility in George where he is being stabilised and treated for multiple fractures.

"Once Chris is stabilised, he will be transported to Johannesburg, after which he will have to undergo operations, for the fractures sustained, by his medical team familiar with Chris’ health history," Astral said.

Last week Astral Foods said in a trading statement it expected its annual earnings to decline by up to 25 percent dented by costs to manage Covid-19 risks and a shutdown in fast food outlets during the hard lock down.

Astral said headline earnings per share (Heps) and earnings per share (EPS) for the year to end September were expected to be down by not more than 25 percent, compared to last year.

Astral Foods reported Heps of 1 674 cents a share and EPS of 1 659c last year. However, in the current financial year the group expected its EPS to be at least 1 244c and Heps to be at least 1 255c.

The group would release a further trading update once there was a reasonable certainty about the range of the decreases in earnings.

BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE

Related Topics: