Capitec Bank Holdings has reported a 23% increase in full-year earnings as its active client base grew to more than 26-million.
The Stellenbosch-based group’s headline earnings rose to R16.8bn in the year to end-February from R13.7bn a year ago. HEPS increased by 23% to R146.06 per share.
Operating profit before tax grew 25% to R22.18bn.
A final dividend of R53.60 per share was declared, taking the total dividend to R79.80, up 23% from a year ago.
“That is several years of compounding momentum, a trajectory very few can match. We are not a growth story that has peaked. We are still building,“ the group said on Wednesday.
Net interest income rose by 19% to R24.1bn, while interest income on lending grew 14%, driven by 27% and 48% increases in personal banking and business banking loan disbursements, respectively.
“Targeted offers informed by data analytics fuelled personal banking lending, while scored lending drove growth in business banking,” it said.
Total loan disbursements grew 34% to R98.3bn, the group said.
“We are approving more because we know our clients better, not because we have lowered the bar,“ it added.
The group’s total active personal banking clients grew 7% to 25.2-million, while fully banked clients grew 12% to 9.9-million and represent 39% of the bank’s active client base, up from 37%.
The group’s short-term focus will be on driving growth by expanding its payments ecosystem and embedded financial solutions, it said.
In the medium term, growth initiatives will be scaled and integrated by developing a single, seamless service model that supports its suite of solutions.
“Initiatives will be designed to support longer-term opportunities, including international expansion and acquisitions, ensuring Capitec remains resilient and adaptable as the business evolves over time,” it said.
AI is very much a part of the Capitec ethos, it said.
“AI is not a future aspiration, it is already at work. We invested significantly in AI this year. Capitec Pulse AI gives our people real-time, contextualised client insight. AI-driven fraud models protected our clients from R673m in potential losses. Generative AI is live in our compliance operations.
“An AI-agent is embedded in business banking credit processing, with a deliberate strategy to scale it across the division. Our people are using these tools, not occasionally but daily. Close to 5,000 employees hold active AI licences, with use per employee averaging four times a day.”
The bank said most employees across the organisation interact with a Gen AI tool on a daily basis.
“The capability is real. The adoption is real. And we are just getting started,” it said.
Capitec said the conflict in the Middle East has made the global economic outlook more uncertain.
“With global oil supply constrained, we are beginning to see the market shocks to the South African economy. The impact of continuing global geopolitical tensions could be a sustained period of elevated oil prices coupled with a depreciation of the exchange rate, resulting in higher inflation levels,” it added.
“The global supply shock undoes many of the economic gains South Africa made during the 2025 calendar year. With potential delays to normalised inflation targeting and monetary policy, South African consumers and businesses will remain under pressure,” it said.
Business Day
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.