This is the first time that the group has declared a dividend since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. <\/p>\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nSouth Africa and Discovery Bank<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking at South Africa, the group said that normalised operating profit increased by 22% to R9 billion and new business by 11% to R16 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Discovery Health showed strong growth across all metrics, with prior technological investments improving efficiency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With Group Life returning to profit, Discovery Life also showed a resilient performance, while Discovery Insure succeeded in its profit turnaround. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Discovery said that its banking subsidiary – Discovery Bank – has been adding 1,000 customers a day since the start of the 2023, with the bank now just over 700,000 active clients – and the target of 1 million by 2026 in sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The bank has also managed to narrow its losses, recording a loss of R767 million for the year – a 23% improvement from the nearly R1 billion loss recorded in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the bank is still running at an operational loss, it has been narrowing this loss consistently, showing that it is moving in the right direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2020, it reported an operational loss of R1.17 billion – this narrowed to just over R1 billion in 2021, then to R990 million in 2022. It has now narrowed further to R767 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Further investment in product innovation and digital capabilities continues to evolve the Bank into a composite-maker in the Discovery retail ecosystem,” the group said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The group added that investment into other initiatives increased over the year, as Discovery Business Insurance and Umbrella Funds saw some growth, whilst Vitality Health International (Africa) grew from a low prior base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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