* FY diluted headline EPS up 50 pct
* Loan revenue jumps 49 pct
* Shares up 13 pct this year
(Adds details)
JOHANNESBURG, March 28 (Reuters) – South African mass-market
lender Capitec Bank reported a 50 percent surge in
first-half earnings, lifted by strong demand for loans, and said
it would open 55 new branches this year.
Capitec has carved out a profitable niche by targeting
consumers traditionally neglected by South Africa’s major banks.
The lender offers higher-margin, unsecured loans usually over a
short term.
Capitec’s bigger rivals have started to follow suit, and
analysts now worry that debt-to-income ratios – already at a
staggering 75 percent in South Africa – could worsen further.
The bank said diluted headline earnings per share totalled
1,099 cents in the year to end-February, from 730 cents a year
earlier.
Headline earnings, the main measure of profit in South
Africa, exclude some one-time items.
Loan revenue grew by 49 percent to 5.7 billion rand ($750.56
million).
Continued…
