Business

Major South African insurer shoots the lights out

Jonathan Hoyle

 ·17 Sep 2026

Momentum hit the R7 billion normalised headline earnings mark in the 2026 financial year, achieving its earnings goal a year earlier than expected.

The group’s normalised headline earnings were driven by several sectors, with five of its business segments earning over R1 billion for the year.

This includes two of its established earners—Momentum Retail and Momentum Corporate—along with other segments that reached R1 billion in earnings for the first time.

The group’s Metropolitan Life saw its earnings grow following a turnaround plan which focused on cost reduction and digital transformation, in addition to improved productivity in the segment.

Momentum Investments and Guardrisk also hit the R1 billion normalised headline earnings mark in the 2026 financial year.

Momentum CEO Jeanette Marais said the group’s earnings exceeded expectations, hitting its targets earlier than expected.

“It’s also very positive that we’ve seen stronger operational performance across most business units, while market impacts played less of a role in the current year’s profitability,” she said.

“The actual quality of earnings improved. It’s worth noting that not only is every single business profitable, but also that five of our businesses each delivered earnings of more than R1 billion for the year.”

Marais also noted that Momentum’s partnership in India had reported positive earnings for the first time, contributing R22 million to normalised headline earnings.

In the 2025 financial year, this business segment posted a R67 million loss on normalised headline earnings, representing an R89 million year-on-year increase in earnings.

“Our strategic partnership in India contributed positively to earnings for the first time, improving this segment’s earnings from a R67 million loss in the previous year to a R22 million profit this year,” Marais said.

“We foresee exponential growth in this health insurance business in the coming years.”

Momentum India was founded in 2015, and today operates as an integrated risk management company with approximately 150 employees.

Good news for investors

Momentum’s regular earnings for the year increased by approximately 11.3% year-on-year, which translated into increases in earnings per share.

The company’s basic earnings per share were 516.2 cents for the last financial year, while diluted earnings per share reached 499.5 cents.

This represents a 16% increase in basic earnings per share and a 14.7% increase in diluted earnings per share.

The group declared a final dividend of 120 cents per share, resulting in a full-year dividend of 230 cents, up 31% on the prior year.

Looking ahead, Marais said the company would need to focus on the value of new business (VNB) as households face financial strain in South Africa.

“Households are still absorbing high living costs, which impacts their financial decisions. Sustaining our trajectory means sharpening our focus on VNB and growing sales volumes and market share in profitable products,” she said.

“Having exceeded its financial ambitions a year early, the group is well advanced in its next strategic planning cycle and will share its strategy up to F2030 within the next twelve months.”

Momentum financial results