Nampak expects to report lower full-year earnings due to the effects of a pension fund surplus and the receipt of an interim settlement of an outstanding Covid-19 insurance claim which affected the prior period earnings, and Angolan production can-line relocation costs in the current period.The beverage can manufacturer said in a statement late on Thursday headline earnings per share from continuing operations for the six months ended March are expected to be between 37% and 45% lower at 3,100c to 3,600c.Normalised HEPS, adjusting for the per share post-tax effects of defined capital and other items, is expected to be between 3,900c and 4,300c, an increase of between 2% and 13%, it said.Earnings per share are seen between 5,800c to 6,600c, compared with 6,064.4c a year ago.Normalised HEPS has been impacted by a decline in the contribution of its diversified unit, partially offset by a R92m post-tax reduction in finance costs.Post-tax items affecting HEPS but excluded from normalised HEPS include, in the prior period, a pension fund surplus of R47m and an R82m interim settlement of an outstanding Covid-19 insurance claim it received. In the current period it incurred Angolan production can-line relocation costs of R68m.Not included in HEPS but affecting EPS is an impairment loss reversal of R239m related to the improved performance and outlook of Beverage Angola, it said.For total operations, HEPS are seen 45% to 52% lower at between 3,200c and 3,700c, while EPS are expected between 5,100c and 5,900c, a decrease of between 84% and 86%.“The decline in EPS is mainly due to an impairment loss of R70m (post tax and non-controlling interest) related to Nampak Zimbabwe in the period and the non-recurrence of a profit on disposal of businesses of R2.5bn in 1H25, which primarily consisted of the recycling of a foreign currency translation reserve of R2.4bn,” it said.The company will release its first half results on May 29.Business Day