FNB-owner FirstRand profit grows, ups dividend

FirstRand reported solid earnings growth for the 2023 financial year and upped its dividend for the year by 12%.

The FNB-owner released its results for the year ended 30 June 2023 today, which revealed solid results.

The company’s basic headline earnings per share grew by 12% to 655.3 cents per share, while basic earnings per share increased by 11% to 648.7 cents per share.

FNB was the largest contributor to the company’s normalised earnings of R36.67 billion, contributing 60% or R21.92 billion.

FNB also achieved solid results in the period, as active customers grew by 5% to 11.49 million, and profit before tax increased by 10% to R31.4 billion.

RMB was the second largest contributor to FirstRand’s normalised earnings, contributing 25% or R9.15 billion.

FirstRand’s normalised net asset value increased by 10% to R180.7 billion.

Overall group net interest income (NII) increased 16%, driven by core lending advances growth (15%), continued deposit gathering (14%) and the endowment benefit, the company said.

FirstRand’s profit for the year grew to R39.07 billion – a 13% increase from the previous year.

“These strong results are a direct outcome of key decisions taken at the beginning of the current macroeconomic cycle,” CEO Alan Pullinger said.

“The credit performance stands out, with the credit loss ratio below the group’s through-the-cycle range.”

The company’s credit loss ratio increased from 0.56% to 0.78% in the period.

“This is testament to the post-pandemic origination approach, and particularly pleasing given the higher-than-expected interest rate and inflationary cycles experienced across all jurisdictions,” said Pullinger.

FirstRand declared a dividend of 384 cents per share, an increase of 12% year-on-year.