Black-owned diversified financial services group Vunani has reported a more than tripling of profits for its 2022 year, lifted by a bounce-back for its insurance business and significant new business in its fund management division.
Group revenue increased by 17% to R686.9m to end-February, Vunani said on Wednesday, with profit from continuing operations jumping 257% to R71.7m.
In 2021, the group’s Oracle Insurance was hit hard by the second Covid-19 wave in Eswatini, and it incurred significantly higher death claims during that period.
The effect of Covid-19 has been significantly less in 2022 as the population got vaccinated, with this business booking a profit of R11.8m from a R37.3m loss in 2021.
The group's fund management business saw its profit more than double to R37.4m, benefiting from higher performance fees, with Vunani Fund Management increasing its funds under management by over a fifth to R61.9bn.
Vunani Fund Managers Botswana (VFMB) doubled its funds under management to R9.2bn, winning a significant mandate during the year.
In the previous year, the group unbundled its private equity assets through an in-specie dividend, with CEO Butana Khoza saying this had allowed for additional focus on other parts of the business.
“Our strategy continues to prioritise maximising synergies across our established operational footprint in Sub-Saharan Africa,” Khoza said in a statement.
“We remain cautiously optimistic that the group can sustain organic growth over the medium- to long-term and that new opportunities will be evaluated on their own merits to ensure value-accretion and good strategic fit,” he said.
Vunani, valued at R451m on the JSE, declared a 14c dividend, a R22.4m payout, from 7.5c in the prior year.
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