Famous Brands Ltd. provided earnings guidance for the year ended February 28, 2013. The company expects to report group headline earnings per share (HEPS) and earnings per share of between 336 cents per share and 342 cents per share. This is an improvement on the prior year comparable HEPS and EPS of between 21% and 23%. The Group also expects to report diluted HEPS and diluted EPS of between 329 cents per share and 335 cents per share, an improvement of between 21% and 23%.

The Board of Famous Brands has announced that Group Financial Director, Mr. Stanley Aldridge, will be retiring on 30 June 2013, and accordingly will not seek re-election at the Group’s Annual General Meeting to be held on 25 July 2013. The Board retained his services as Chairman of several of the Group’s subsidiary joint venture companies. Stanley will be succeeded as Group FD on 01 July 2013 by Mr. Norman Richards, who joined the Group in 2012 as Change Management Executive.

Famous Brands Ltd. entered into a joint-venture partnership with the Coega Dairy Company and farm employees, regarding the supply of cheese products to the Group. Famous Brands will control 51% of the company’s shares, while shareholders of Coega Dairy will hold the balance of 49%. In terms of the agreement, a new cheese manufacturing plant will be constructed adjacent to Coega Dairy’s existing dairy facility. Coega Dairy will supply milk to the new company, which in turn will produce Mozzarella, cheese slices and cheese spread for the Group. In the immediate term, Debonairs Pizza will be the company’s single biggest customer, with the intention to expand supply over time to the Group’s other brands. Latest-technology equipment, budgeted at R35 million, will be imported from Italy for the custom-designed plant and will be funded by the joint-venture partners in direct proportion to their shareholding in the business. The day-to-day operations of the cheese manufacturing business will be managed by Coega Dairy for an agreed management fee. n terms of the agreement, the Coega Development Corporation (CDC) will fund construction of the 2,600m² facility and lease the premises to the new company. Construction is planned to commence in November 2012, and is expected to cost in the order of ZAR 20 million.