February 24, 2022
Bega Cheese – the parent company of Kingaroy-based PCA – has reported a major boost in profit and revenue in its half-year results, despite COVID-19 disruptions.
The 29 per cent boost in profit after tax, from $21.7 million to $28 million, was reported to the ASX on Thursday.
Revenue for the half-year increased 113 per cent, from $707.7 million to $1507.2 million.
However Bega said the financial impact of COVID-related issues during the six months had been “in excess of $20 million”.
These issues included global supply chain pressures on internationally sourced materials such as fuel, packaging, resin and coffee.
“Many suppliers of these products were unable to meet delivery windows creating interruptions to manufacturing schedules, resulting in increased operational costs,” a statement to the ASX reported.
“In the second quarter, the spread of the Omicron variant created significant disruption to the local supply chain and our customer channels.
“The business suffered from significant absenteeism across Bega manufacturing sites and those of our suppliers which placed pressure on production volumes and service levels and resulted in large cost increases.”
Bega also noted the significant related costs of rapid antigen tests, personal protective equipment and deep cleaning.
“The COVID-19 disruption intensified into January with signs of recovery during February,” the statement said.
Bega Cheese announced an interim fully franked dividend of 5.5 cents per share for the half-year, to be paid on March 24.
