RMB Holdings, which is the holding company for some of South Africa’s leading financial-services companies, including the FirstRand Group, lifted headline earnings by 16% to 121 cents or R1,44-billion for the six months ended December. This was compared with earnings of 104 cents per share in 2004.
The group declared an interim dividend of 50,5 cents per share or R0,6-billion, which was a 20% increase on the previous comparable half-year. RMB said a positive economic environment had provided a basis for strong organic growth for all FirstRand’s businesses. In particular, the FirstRand banking group produced headline earnings growth of 29% to R3,7-billion.
Sustained low-interest rates also continued to result in very strong advances growth, which was offset by margin pressure.
Momentum Group grew headline earnings, excluding a settlement with the National Treasury and International Financial Reporting Standards, by 25% to R742-million, with earnings attributable to ordinary shareholders increasing by 33%.
Discovery Group delivered a strong performance for the year under review with headline earnings, excluding the impact of its black economic empowerment (BEE) transaction, increasing by 64% to R296-million — R152-million after the BEE transaction, a reduction of 16%.
Looking ahead, RMB said the economic upswing currently being experienced in South Africa was not yet showing signs of slowing, and possibly represented a sustainable structural shift to an era of low interest rates and inflation.
“Barring any unforeseen external shocks and in the context of the current strong economic growth in South Africa, we believe that the existing strategies of the group and diversified income streams generated from the underlying business units position the group to achieve its stated objective of 10% real growth for the year to 30 June 2006.” — I-Net Bridge