(Adds analyst, detail)
* Earnings seen 22-27 pct higher
* Shares rise 2 pct
JOHANNESBURG, Septa 4 (Reuters) – FirstRand Ltd,
South Africa’s second-largest bank, said on Tuesday its
full-year earnings likely rose by as much as 27 percent, sending
its shares higher.
FirstRand said it expects diluted normalised earnings per
share to increase by between 22 to 27 percent from 179.4 cents
for the year to end-June. A poll of 17 analysts by Thomson
Reuters showed an average forecast for 20 percent profit growth.
“It’s an excellent performance, a very good result. It’s
definitely better than consensus,” said Adrian Cloete, an
analyst at Cadiz Asset Management.
The bank did not give a reason for the expected rise in
profit. Earnings likely rose as a result of a strong performance
by the retail arm First National Bank (FNB) and vehicle
financing unit Wesbank, Cloete said.
FNB has waged a fierce campaign for its competitors’
customers, which analysts expect will boost its non-interest
revenue.
FirstRand is due to report full-year results on September
11. Its local rivals, all of whose financial year end in
December, have so far reported leaner first-half results.
Continued…
