(Bloomberg) — Standard Bank Group Ltd., Africa’s biggest bank by assets, reported a record pretax profit in the first half of 2023, driven by a recovery in sub-Saharan economies that helped the lender shake off the gloomy outlook in its home market of South Africa.
Profit attributable to ordinary shareholders climbed 36% to 21.9 billion rand ($1.1 billion) for the six months through June, fueled by gains in Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda and Zimbabwe, the Johannesburg-based firm said Thursday. The Africa Regions franchise headline earnings jumped by 65%, accounting for 44% of the group’s performance.
“In Sub-Saharan Africa, most economies are resilient and dynamic; the risk of sovereign debt restructuring this year has reduced considerably,” Chief Executive Officer Sim Tshabalala said in an investor briefing. Currency reforms in Nigeria, although negative for inflation in the short term, is promising for growth and investment in the long term, he added.
In its home market, inflation and interest-rate pressures — exacerbated by slow reforms, poor service delivery, increased power outages and logistics disruptions — have weighed on the performance, Tshabalala said in a separate statement. Borrowing costs in South Africa have risen 450 basis points since the start of 2022, placing considerable pressure on consumers and businesses.
Still, headline earnings climbed 17% at Standard Bank’s South African home market.
Standard Bank dropped as much as 1.9%, before paring losses to 0.8% as of 12:25 p.m. in Johannesburg. Peers on the FTSE/JSE banks index declined 0.9%.
Other highlights from the earnings statement:
Proposes an interim dividend of 6.9 rand per share
Credit impairment charges rose 42% to 8.4 billion rand
Credit loss ratio increased to 97 basis points; it’s expected to remain in the upper half of the group’s through-the-cycle target range of 70-100 basis points for the rest of the year
Lender sees revenue growth to remain stronger than cost growth, even as the positive endowment generated by rising interest rates fades with the peaking of the interest-rate cycle.
Bank has implemented a partial endowment hedge, and subsequently has cut its net interest income impact for any 100 basis point rate reduction to 1.2 billion rand, from 1.4 billion rand earlier.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
