Johannesburg-listed Premier Group Limited delivered a standout interim performance as net profit jumped 62.1 percent to R1.17 billion ($70.3 million) for the six months ended September 30, 2026. The surge was fueled by consolidating RFG Holdings Limited alongside resilient operating margins across key milling and baking lines.

The packaged food manufacturer lifted group revenue 38.8 percent to R14.33 billion ($863.72 million) from R10.32 billion ($622.07 million) a year earlier. Operating profit climbed 52.5 percent to R1.69 billion ($101.6 million), while operating margins expanded 110 basis points to 11.8 percent, reflecting tight cost discipline and supply chain efficiencies.

Big deals drive growth

Headline earnings per share, South Africa’s primary corporate profit gauge, climbed 27.1 percent to R7.11 ($0.43) despite equity dilution from 35.08 million newly issued shares. Meanwhile, operating cash flow jumped 43 percent to R1.82 billion ($109.67 million), giving executive leadership ample headroom to fund ongoing capital programs and share repurchases.

The acquisition fundamentally reshaped Premier’s groceries portfolio, where revenue climbed to R4.94 billion ($297.64 million) from R1.05 billion ($63.5 million). RFG now operates as Premier Culinary, delivering R513 million ($30.93 million) in division EBITDA and instantly positioning the packaged goods supplier as a broader powerhouse across regional store shelves.

Core bakeries stay resilient

In the core Millbake arm, which brings in two-thirds of company revenue, sales ticked up 1.3 percent to R9.39 billion ($566.08 million). Deflation across commercial maize and wheat inputs aided segment profitability, pushing EBITDA up 23.7 percent to R1.58 billion ($95.29 million) while new regional facilities in Middelburg entered full operational service.

Total assets nearly doubled year over year to R21.84 billion ($1.32 billion), while total equity grew to R13.04 billion ($786.46 million). Return on invested capital hit 20.6 percent, and net debt stood at R2.3 billion ($138.67 million), leaving the group’s leverage ratio comfortably seated at an enviable 0.7 times.

Regulators challenge factory shutdown

The stellar numbers landed alongside brewing legal friction after South Africa’s Competition Commission appealed the RFG deal’s original approval. Trustbusters pushed back after Premier shuttered a canned fruit facility in Tulbagh, Western Cape, arguing the abrupt industrial closure undermined the conditions that justified the buyout’s clearance.

Premier firmly pushed back against antitrust regulators, attributing the plant closure to secular global export declines rather than merger synergy cuts. Management described any forced unwinding of the completed transaction as legally impractical, adding that constructive talks continue with antitrust authorities to resolve the standoff without upending integration gains.