(Adds details)
JOHANNESBURG, March 2 (Reuters) - FirstRand Ltd , one of Africa's biggest banks, posted a 15% rise in
interim profit on Thursday, as it benefited from a high interest
rate environment and economic activity picked up after the
lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.
Headline earnings per share, a profit measure widely used in
South Africa, came in at 322.7 South African cents for the half
year ended Dec. 31, up from 281.4 cents in the same period a
year ago.
The South African lender declared a dividend of 189 cents
per share and posted a return on equity (RoE), a key measure of
bank profitability, of 21.8%.
South African lenders, one of the biggest in the continent,
had a good run last year, but a worsening operating environment
in the country, primarily due to frequent rolling blackouts, has
raised doubts about sustainable growth.
Increasing interest rates have led to worries of bank loans
going sour in a country jostling with high unemployment and
anaemic growth, and analysts have said FirstRand's primary
exposure to South Africa could be a big risk.
"Structural constraints in South Africa... will, however,
continue to limit the growth opportunities," FirstRand said, but
added its RoE for the next six months would remain at the upper
end of its stated range of 18% to 22%.
(Reporting by Promit Mukherjee; Editing by Muralikumar
Anantharaman and Subhranshu Sahu)
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