Standard Bank’s headline earnings per share (HEPS) rose 10% in the first half, driven by robust franchise momentum and active capital management.
The group recorded headline earnings of R24bn and delivered a return on equity (ROE) of 19.1% for the six months to end-June.
“This strong performance was underpinned by continued balance sheet growth, robust fee and trading revenue growth, and diligently controlled costs,” said CEO Sim Tshabalala.
“Growth in credit charges was muted as expected. Insurance and asset management recorded a continued upward trajectory in earnings and returns,” he said.
Headline earnings per ordinary share rose 10% to 1,458c and an interim dividend of 817c was declared.
Active clients increased by 2%, driven by growth in both SA and Africa regions.
The deployment of personalised, data-driven offers to clients drove client retention and entrenchment and increased revenue. In SA, digital retail clients increased by 7%, successful digital transactions were 12% higher and digital sales volumes rose 33%. Together, this drove a 21% increase in digital revenue period on period.
The growth in active business clients was underpinned by growth in the transactional and merchant account base in SA and targeted client acquisition strategies in Africa regions, the group said on Thursday.
Investment banking origination reached a new record, driven in particular by opportunities in the energy and infrastructure sector.
The group’s SA franchises delivered earnings of R11.6bn, the Africa regions’ franchise R9.7bn and the offshore businesses R1.6bn. The contribution from its 40% stake in ICBC Standard Bank was R0.8bn.
The key contributors to Africa regions’ headline earnings remained Angola, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia.
The group said trade disputes and high levels of policy uncertainty were expected to have a negative effect on global economic activity but were not expected to disrupt the significant medium- and long-term opportunities it expected across Africa.
In SA, inflation is expected to remain in the bottom half of the 3%-6% target range for the rest of the year and into 2026 and interest rates are expected to remain flat for the rest of the year.
However, the bank has lowered its expectations for SA’s real GDP growth to 0.9% in 2025, improving to 1.3% in 2026. This is lower than the 1.7% and 2.0% for 2025 and 2026, respectively, it expected in March.
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