South African insurance giant bounces back

Old Mutual reported its highest profit since 2019, buoyed by rising demand for its short-term insurance and wealth management products at home in South Africa.

The Johannesburg-based company’s adjusted headline earnings rose 14% to to R6.69 billion. That exceeded the R6.6 billion forecast by six analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

Old Mutual and rivals, including Sanlam, are benefiting from a modest revival in South Africa. Improved performance at the state-run power utility and the government’s focus on infrastructure projects is helping the continent’s biggest economy and spurring consumer demand.

The company’s headline earnings per share climbed 17%, boosted by the company’s 1 billion rand share repurchase program in 2024, which contributed to a reduction in the weighted average number of ordinary shares. 

The company proposed a final dividend of 52 cents per share for the second half of the year, bringing the company’s total payout to 86 cents per share, compared with a consensus estimate of a total payout of 89 cents a share.  

Old Mutual expects its new OM Bank unit to be fully functional by the fourth quarter of the year and breakeven in 2028.

The new lender will target affluent customers, putting it in competition with some of the biggest banks on the continent.