Poultry producer Astral Foods' share price jumped 7.4% to R330 on Wednesday after it said it expected a nearly six-fold increase in interim earnings.Astral said in a trading statement it expected to report on May 14 that its headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the six months to end-March would be between R19.58 and R19.94 compared to the matching period's R3.56.Its basic earnings per share (EPS) would similarly grow to between R19.42 and R19.77 from R3.53.Astral said the jump in profit was partly thanks to no losses from bird flu or listeriosis during the reporting period. It also benefited from "continued favourable trading conditions and good farming performances".