Astral Foods, a South Africa-listed poultry producer, experienced a significant cybersecurity incident on March 16, 2025. This attack caused operational disruptions, resulting in an estimated R20 million (approximately $1.10 million) loss in profit for the six months ending March 31, 2025.
The cyberattack primarily impacted Astral Foods’ poultry processing division. Downtime in processing and deliveries led to lost revenue and added costs to address the production backlog. The company’s statement confirms the incident.
“On March 16, 2025, Astral experienced a cybersecurity incident. The Group acted swiftly, implementing all disaster recovery protocols and preparedness plans. However, our Poultry Division was negatively impacted by downtime in processing and deliveries to customers. This resulted in a loss of revenue, and together with costs to catch up on a backlog in production, have impacted the Group’s profits in this reporting period by approximately R20 million.”
Despite the disruption, Astral Foods swiftly implemented disaster recovery protocols. By the time of the announcement, all business units were operating normally, and systems had fully recovered. Importantly, the company confirmed no customer, supplier, or individual data was compromised.
Financial Impact and Broader Industry Challenges
Beyond the direct impact of the cyberattack, Astral Foods anticipates a substantial profit decline for the first half of its fiscal year—a drop of up to 60%. This forecast considers the cyberattack, reduced poultry prices, and increased production costs. The company projects headline earnings of around 354 cents per share for this period. The broader poultry industry faces pressure from reduced consumer spending and rising input costs, especially feed costs affected by last year’s drought.
The South African poultry sector is currently experiencing:
- Lower chicken prices due to decreased consumer spending.
- High input costs, particularly feed and production, due to supply chain issues and climate conditions.
- Operational setbacks exacerbated by the cyberattack.
Recovery and Future Outlook
Astral Foods highlighted its effective cybersecurity response in preventing further damage and data breaches. The company expressed gratitude to its stakeholders for their support during the recovery. Looking ahead, Astral Foods plans to enhance its cybersecurity measures to prevent future incidents and continue navigating economic challenges through operational optimization, cost management, and supply chain resilience. While the first half of the fiscal year was significantly impacted, the company remains optimistic about long-term recovery and growth.
