South African exec Arrie Rautenbach-led Absa Group expects earnings to rise by 27 percent in H1 2022

Absa Group, a financial services group led by South African banking executive Arrie Rautenbach, has stated that it expects its earnings to rise by more than 27 percent in the first half of 2022.

The expected boost in earnings will come as the leading financial services group continues to strengthen its revenue position above pre-pandemic levels.

Absa Group (short for Amalgamated Banks of South Africa) is a South African financial services conglomerate that provides personal and business banking services, credit cards, corporate and investment banking, wealth and investment management, and bancassurance.

The lender advised shareholders in a trading statement that headline earnings for the first half of 2022 are expected to rise by 27 to 32 percent from R9.86 ($0.589) per share in the first half of 2021 to between R12.52 ($0.748) and R13.02 ($0.778) per share.

Meanwhile, earnings are expected to increase by 25 to 30 percent, to R12.29 ($0.734) and R12.78 ($0.764) per share, up from R9.83 ($0.587) per share.

Double-digit earnings growth is also expected to be sustained as the bank’s retail and commercial banking segments benefit from a strong recovery from the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The lender also informed shareholders that its financial results for the six months ending on June 30 are more certain, as it was able to provide a narrower earnings range compared to its trading statement in the first half of 2021.

The Rautenbach-led group’s recent earnings forecast follows an impressive triple-digit increase in earnings from R6.04 billion ($399.3 million) in 2020 to R17.83 billion ($1.18 billion).

The triple-digit percent increase in earnings was fueled primarily by the economy’s recovery, as well as management initiatives that delivered on the leading lender’s expectations.

Rautenbach, the recently appointed CEO and executive director of Absa Group, owns a beneficial 0.023-percent stake in the group, amounting to 188,300 shares.

His stake in Absa Group is presently worth $1.94 million.