By Renee Bonorchis
(Bloomberg) — Liberty Holdings Ltd., the insurer controlled by Standard Bank Group Ltd.,Ā said it wants to expand further in Nigeria as profit from its operations across the continent rises, outstripping sluggish growth in South Africa, where it has reduced its headcount.
āWest Africa is where we have to grow and conclude things,ā Thabo Dloti, chief executive officer of the Johannesburg-based group, said by phone on Friday. Even though Nigeriaās Naira may be devalued this year āforeign-exchange issues arenāt going to delay us — being operational in Nigeria sooner is far more beneficial for us than waiting for the exchange rate to be right,ā Dloti said.
Liberty already owns Total Health Trust Ltd.in Nigeria, having bought the shares it didnāt already own for 142 million rand ($9 million) in August last year, and has said it wants to buy a Nigerian insurer and asset manager. It announced an acquisition of 51 percent in Ugandaās Madhvani Groupās short- term insurer in January, completing its East African expansion for now.
Outside of South Africa, new life business grew 39 percent to 304 million rand while the value of new business surged 67 percent to 45 million rand in the year ended in December, Liberty said in a statement on Friday. Total net income, including the South African operations, rose 2.3 percent to 4.01 billion rand and earnings per share excluding one-time items advanced to 14.61 rand, beating theĀ median estimate of 14.32 rand by eight analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
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Liberty, founded in South Africa by Donald Gordon almost 60 years ago,Ā has a presence in 16 African countries, having followed Standard Bank into many of the markets. At home in South Africa, where growth has slumped to levels not seen since 2009 amid rising inflation and interest rates and high unemployment, Liberty has restructured its business, cutting back on head office staff and outsourcing so-called non-core functions, Dloti said.
