FirstRand Nam expects ‘significant’ drop in earnings

Jo-Maré Duddy – FirstRand Namibia, with FNB Namibia as one of its subsidiaries, expects its earnings for the six months ended 31 December 2020 to be between 5% and 10% lower than the same half-year in 2019.
“The main driver of this slowdown in earnings is the pressure on margins given the repo rate cuts and prime rate by 300bps [basis points], compared to the prior period,” FirstRand Namibia said in trading statement on the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) on Wednesday.
Both earnings share (EPS) and headline earnings per share (HEPS) will drop by between 5% and 10%, the group said.
In its 2020 annual results, released in September last year, FirstRand Namibia reported HEPS – a profit gauge – of 331.8c for the 12 months ended 30 June 2020. This was 19% lower compared to its 2019 book-year.
The group’s interim results will be released on or about 4 March, it said.
FirstRand Namibia is listed on the Local Index of the NSX.
It closed at N$23.06 per share on Wednesday. FirstRand Namibia’s market capitalisation by total shares in issue was N$6.171 billion, making it the second biggest company on the Local Index.