(Alliance News) - Investec PLC and Investec Ltd on Thursday said pretax profit dropped by more than a half in the first six months of its current financial year but it expects improvement going forward.
The Anglo-South African wealth management company reported net interest income for the six months to the end of September of GBP359.4 million compared to GBP425.7 million a year earlier, resulting in a pretax profit decline to GBP112.9 million from GBP260.5 million year-on-year.
As at September 30, net asset value per share increased by 4.6% to 433.5 pence from 414.3p as at March 31.
The company declared an interim dividend of 5.5p a share, halved from 11.0p paid a year earlier.
Going forward, Investec said it expects the overall performance in the second half of its current financial year to be ahead of the first half, underpinned by improving revenue trends as client activity levels improve and liability repricing aids net interest income.
"The first half of the financial year has been characterised by difficult and volatile market and economic conditions attributed primarily to Covid-19," said Chief Executive Fani Titi.
"We entered this crisis from a position of strength and continue to have a strong capital, funding and liquidity position, leaving us well placed, both operationally and financially, to navigate this
evolving environment for the benefit of our clients and other stakeholders," added Titi.
Investec PLC shares were trading 3.3% lower in London on Thursday at 197.70p each, while in Johannesburg, Investec Ltd shares were down 1.8% at ZAR39.89.
By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com
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Investec (INVP)