Tiger Brands CEO’s R3 million bet

Tiger Brands CEO Tjaart Kruger bought over R3 million worth of shares in his company, a good sign that he is confident the food producer is set for solid growth.

Tiger Brands – which owns well-known brands like Jungle, Tastic, Doom, All Gold, Oros and KOO – informed shareholders on Friday, 28 February, that its CEO bought shares in the company on the open market.

Kruger, through the TNI Trust, bought 8,610 Tiger Brands shares on Wednesday, 26 February, at an average price of R269.16.

He made a second purchase the next day when he bought 3,619 shares at an average price of R268.67.

Together, both sales total 12,229 shares and a value of R3.29 million.

The company did not provide an explanation for this purchase, but it is generally considered a good sign when a CEO buys shares in their own company.

It reflects confidence in the business’ growth potential, especially because a CEO has better insights into a company than ordinary shareholders.

In addition, it aligns the CEO’s interests with those of shareholders, as the executive essentially “puts his money where his mouth is” by risking his own money should the business underperform.

Kruger rejoined Tiger Brands in November 2023, when he was tasked with turning the struggling food producer around.

Kruger has had an extensive career in South Africa’s fast-moving consumer goods industry.

He previously worked at Tiger Brands as the Managing Executive of its Grains division until 2006. After that, he worked at Adcock Ingram and Afrox.

He joined Premier in 2011, where he served as the company’s CEO for over a decade.

At Premier, Kruger showcased his turnaround abilities by leading the company in a return to profit and successfully overseeing its expansion and growth strategy.

Now, he has been tasked with doing the same for Tiger Brands, which had been struggling until he joined.

The Covid-19 pandemic hit Tiger Brands hard, and the food producer struggled to recover from this impact for years after.

This downward trajectory reached a boiling point in October 2023 when the company announced that its CEO, Noel Doyle, would be leaving.

“Following the board’s annual review of the company’s strategy, the board concluded that new leadership was required to respond to the challenges currently facing the company,” the company said.

Kruger was chosen as the company’s CEO due to his demonstrated ability to turn struggling companies around and his intimate knowledge of the food-producing industry.

When Kruger’s appointment was first announced, Tiger Brands explained that he was only signed on for a 26-month contract.

However, his tenure has since been extended, with the company announcing that he would stay on until the end of 2028.

This decision has already proven successful, as Tiger Brands is on an upward trajectory for the first time in years.

The company’s latest results, which were for its 2024 financial year, showed a significant turnaround.

While revenue only grew by a modest 0.73%, the company’s profit for the year grew by 11.84% to R3.06 billion.

Tiger Brands’ earnings per share increased by 13% to 1,942 cents, while headline earnings per share increased by 4% to 1,810 cents per share.

“With the new management team and federated operating model in place, the performance for the second half of 2024 exceeded expectations, showing credible improvement against the first half,” the company said.

“The performance trajectory was a result of agile and focused management teams empowered to make decisions, as well as various continuous improvement initiatives, such as value engineering, logistics and conversion cost savings.”

Foord Asset Management recently highlighted Tiger Brands as one of South Africa’s JSE-listed food producers that make attractive investments in 2025.

Foord equity analyst Dhersan Chetty said this sector has long been out of favour with investors due to their limited pricing power, heightened competition from private labels, under-investment in manufacturing facilities, and rising commodity prices.

However, in 2025, he said the tide appears to be turning.

“In the current environment, specific food producers such as Premier, Rhodes, and, more recently, Tiger Brands, have begun to outperform, thanks to strategic capital investments,” he said. 

“By upgrading their facilities, these companies are generating a cost and quality advantage that has made them increasingly competitive.”

Tiger Brands’ share price is up nearly 15% over the past six months, but down around 8% in the year to date.