Absa Full Year Earnings Rise 12.25% to 24.7 Billion Rand

ABSA GROUP LTD reported a 12.25% increase in full-year headline earnings on Tuesday, bolstered by a decline in credit impairments and growth across its Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) and regional African divisions. The lender, which ranks as the third-largest in South Africa by assets, posted headline earnings of 24.7 billion rand ($1.51 billion) for the year ending December 31. Revenue for the period grew by 5% to 115.7 billion rand, supported by strong non-interest income. This performance helped mitigate a moderate net interest income result, which was impacted by modest retail loan growth and margin compression. Pre-provision profit also saw a 4% rise, reaching 53.5 billion rand. Geographically, the bank's 11 operations outside of its home market delivered significantly stronger earnings growth. The company highlighted that this regional success was underpinned by solid pre-provision profit growth and a steady expansion of its customer base. > "From a geographic perspective, its 11 rest-of-Africa businesses delivered noticeably stronger earnings growth than South Africa, driven by solid pre-provision profit growth and continued customer expansion." In the domestic market, the group saw a substantial improvement in credit quality. Overall impairments decreased by 6% to 13.4 billion rand. The credit loss ratio improved to 88 basis points, down from 103 basis points in 2024, placing it at the midpoint of the bank's target range. > "South Africa benefited from a meaningful improvement in credit impairments across several portfolios." Reflecting the positive annual results, the group declared a final dividend of 850 cents per share.