South Africa’s most recognisable consumer brands group has delivered a stronger-than-expected first-half performance, with its food and beverages portfolio doing the heavy lifting while fashion retail and personal care lagged in a market defined by consumer caution and a stagnant economy.
AVI’s food division drove first-half earnings growth, offsetting weaker demand in its personal care and fashion retail businesses as consumers remained under financial pressure. Theupperent Group revenue rose 4.9% against the same period a year earlier, while operating profit climbed 11.6% and the operating margin improved to 24.7%. Headline earnings per share advanced 11.7% to 455.1 cents, prompting a matching 11.4% lift in the interim dividend to 245 cents per share.
AVI’s Snackworks and Entyce units generated a compound annual growth rate in operating profit of 12.5% since the first half of 2023, underscoring the durability of the group’s food-led model through an extended period of weak consumer spending. Mdundo Snackworks, which houses Bakers biscuits and Willards snacks, posted revenue of R3.25 billion — a 5.9% increase — with operating profit rising 12.3% to R857.4 million. The operating margin recovered to 26.4% from 24.9%, reversing a prior-year dip, with biscuit volume growth supported by product launches and elevated festive season demand for the Bakers range.
Entyce Beverages, the home of Five Roses, Freshpak and Ciro coffee, recorded revenue growth of 4.5% to R2.73 billion, with operating profit improving 6.4% off what the group acknowledged was a strong prior-year base. Better creamer volumes and higher selling prices across tea and coffee were the primary contributors, with cost controls and restructuring supporting margin stability.
The group’s seafood arm, I&J, delivered one of the more striking turnarounds in the results. Operating profit recovered to R108.4 million from R36.1 million in the prior period, driven by higher selling prices, improved catch rates and additional fishing capacity from the freezer vessel Umlungisi, which entered service in February 2025. The turnaround is notable given the structural challenges facing South African fisheries, though the group flagged that the total allowable catch for the 2026 calendar year has been cut by 5%, and that catch rates remain at historical lows — meaning meaningful improvement will require conditions to shift materially.
The group’s abalone operation remained a drag. The operating loss widened to R44.1 million from R25 million, a deterioration the group attributed to oversupply and weak demand from key Asian export markets. The pressure is not unique to AVI — Sea Harvest has reported similar strain from the same dynamic, pointing to a sector-wide challenge rather than a company-specific one.
The personal care division, Indigo, was the most visible underperformer. Revenue fell 7.2% as demand dropped in the core deodorant body spray category, a segment the group described as experiencing both falling category demand and intensifying competitive disruption. As noted by Simply Wall St, AVI’s earnings have grown at 8.1% per year over the past five years, but the group currently trades at roughly 12.7% below its estimated fair value, reflecting ongoing investor caution around consumer-facing stocks in South Africa’s low-growth environment.
Fashion retail, which spans Spitz, Kurt Geiger and Gant, managed revenue growth of 3.4%, with higher footwear volumes and a stronger December trading performance providing support. Clothing sales, however, declined as consumers continued to pull back on discretionary apparel spending and as retailers leaned more heavily on promotional discounting to clear stock — a pattern that has compressed margins across the sector.
Looking ahead, the group signalled that consumer demand is expected to stay constrained and competitive pressure intense. Some relief may come from moderating commodity input costs and rand strength, which could ease inflationary pressure in the second half of the financial year. Management expressed confidence in the resilience of the brand portfolio, pointing to its defensive characteristics during periods of demand stress and to a pipeline of product launches across categories as the basis for sustained performance through the remainder of the year.