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Financial services group Capitec said on Thursday (5 September) that it expects headline earnings per share (HEPS) to increase by between 18% and 21% for the half year ended August 2019.<\/p>\n
Headline earnings per share will be between R25.11 and R25.75 per share, while earnings per share will be between R25.04 and R25.68 per share, also representing an increase of between 18% and 21% compared to the same period in 2018.<\/p>\n
Shares in the bank climbed 3.69% to R115.70 in afternoon trade on the JSE.<\/p>\n
Chief executive officer, Gerrie Fourie, called on president Cyril Ramaphosa to rally everyone around the goal of uplifting economic growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I was in president Ramaphosa\u2019s shoes I would only do one thing,\u201d Fourie said in an interview with Bloomberg at the lender\u2019s headquarters in Stellenbosch. \u201cI would get every single person to talk growth. The one thing I have learnt is that when people have a common objective, and everyone goes for it because it\u2019s clear, you achieve things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have two big problems in South Africa, the one is education and the other employment,\u201d the chief executive said. \u201cIf you start growing you can sort out those problems.\u201d<\/p>\n
Capitec has been one of the country\u2019s fastest growing banks with a market-leading 11.4 million customers. However, it faces increasing competition from new entrants including TymeBank, Discovery Bank, and Bank Zero, which is expected to open in 2019 under the watchful eye of former FNB chief executive, Michael Jordaan.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to be radical. It doesn\u2019t sound good but if you really look at what needs to be done you need to downscale middle and senior managers and get it lean and mean and focused,\u201d Fourie said. \u201cThen you can turn it around,” he told Bloomberg.<\/p>\n
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