Liberty reports big interim profit jump
Financial services group Liberty Holdings on Thursday reported 51% jump in pre-tax profit for the six months ended June 2019, to R3.73 billion.
Normalised headline earnings per share was up 53% to 735.8 cents per share, from 482 cents per share in 2018, with and an annualised return on equity of 17.7% for the period.
The group kept its interim dividend unchanged at 276 cents per share.
Liberty, which is majority owned by Standard Bank Group, said that death and disability payments in the first half of 2019 increased by 6.9% to R5.0 billion and annuity payments increased by 8.6% to R3.9 billion.
“The group’s performance for the six months to 30 June 2019 reflects continued progress in achieving our medium-term financial targets, with a 13,9% increase in normalised operating earnings arising from the South African Insurance Operations and the STANLIB South Africa business and significantly higher earnings of R922 million from the Shareholder Investment Portfolio (SIP),” it said.
Group net external third party client cash inflows increased significantly to R10.6 billion, compared to R1.9 billion for the six months ended June 2018, while group equity value per share increased from R138.98 in the comparative period to R143.96 and the return on group equity value (RoGEV) increased from 4.7% at 30 June 2018 to 14%.
“We expect the South African economic environment to remain subdued for the remainder of 2019, however, we are confident that we are focusing on the right areas of the business to create sustainable longer-term value for all stakeholders,” Liberty said.
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