By Ana Monteiro and Renee Bonorchis
Standard Bank Group Ltd., Africa’s largest lender by assets, said it expects to report that 2015 profit increased by as much as 35 percent because of reduced losses at its international operations.
Earnings per share excluding one-time items will range from 13.52 rand ($0.89) to 14.60 rand a share from 10.81 rand in 2014 when using international financial reporting standards, the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement Wednesday.
In 2014 Standard Bank incurred losses of 3.7 billion rand linked to its operations outside Africa. The bank last year completed the sale of its Brazilian unit and also sold a 60 percent stake in its U.K. operations to Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd.
“Headline earnings in the comparable period included the impact of losses incurred in the outside Africa discontinued operation of R3.7 billion,” the bank said. “Losses have reduced meaningfully in 2015.”
Standard Bank rose as much as 7.9 percent and was 4.9 percent higher at 114.12 rand as of 9:30 a.m. in Johannesburg.
JOHANNESBURG, Feb 24 (Reuters) – South Africa’s Standard Bank said on Wednesday its full-year profit would rise by up to 30 percent higher, boosted by lower losses from discontinued operations outside Africa, sending its shares up.
Standard Bank said its diluted normalised headline earnings per share (EPS) will be between 20 percent and 30 percent higher for the 12 months to end-December from the previous year.
Headline earnings per share is the main profit gauge in South Africa and strips out certain one-off items.
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Standard Bank last year completed the disposal of its controlling interest in its British unit, since renamed ICBC Standard Bank, to China’s ICBC, which also holds a 20 percent stake in the South African bank.
The previous year included the British unit’s loss of 3.7 billion rand which has narrowed substantially in the twelve months to end-2015, the company said.
Shares in Standard Bank were up 4.7 percent at 113.88 rand by 0748 GMT, compared to a 0.9 percent decline in the Johannesburg Securities Exchange’s Top-40 index.
