| Imagery Source: Investec Limited |
| Information Source: JSE SENS |
| Investec Limited |
| Fani Titi, Group Chief Executive, commented: |
| "The Group delivered resilient results in a challenging macro-economic environment characterised by geopolitical uncertainty and ongoing market volatility. Our commitment to supporting our clients and the diverse nature of our revenue streams underpinned our financial performance, resulting in a 2.5% growth in adjusted earnings per share to 40.5 pence. |
| Over the past twelve months, we have returned c.£376 million (c.R9 billion) to shareholders, equivalent to 7.4% of the Group’s average market capitalisation, through ordinary dividends and share buybacks. |
| We are progressing well with our strategy to build scale and leverage existing client franchises, allocate capital optimally and drive investment to enhance our proposition. We have a clear path to achieving incremental return on equity of c.200bps by FY2030. Today, we will present a business update on our Corporate mid-market growth initiatives, outlining our plans to expand and deepen the breadth of our current proposition. We will bring the private client banking experience to mid-sized corporates, delivered through our differentiated service model and entrepreneurial approach. |
| Our strong capital generation has allowed us to deliver sustainable returns to our shareholders, invest in initiatives to enhance our offering, and support our clients, colleagues, and societies through an evolving economic environment." |
| Group financial summary: |
| Revenue was supported by ongoing client acquisition, client activity, growth in average lending portfolios, and continued net inflows in discretionary and annuity funds under management (FUM). Net interest income (NII) benefited from growth in average lending books and lower cost of funds in Southern Africa as a result of our strategy to optimise the funding pool. This was offset by the impact of lower average interest rates. Non-interest revenue (NIR) growth reflects a strong increase in fee income generated by our UK Banking business, as well as higher annuity fees from our SA Wealth & Investment business. Trading income and investment income are behind the comparative period, which benefited from the positive sentiment that followed the Government of National Unity (GNU) formation in South Africa. This was augmented by an increase in the Group's share of post-tax profits from associates. |
| The cost-to-income ratio was 51.9% (1H2025: 50.8%; FY2025: 52.6%). Total operating costs increased by 1.5%. Fixed operating expenditure growth reflects continued investment in people and technology for strategic growth initiatives, project spend to transform and enhance business resilience, as well as inflationary pressures. Variable remuneration in each geography was in line with the respective underlying business performance. |
| Pre-provision adjusted operating profit decreased by 2.6% to £527.4 million (1H2025: £541.6 million). The Group saw good levels of lending origination with strong fee generation, which was counterbalanced by the negative impact of declining interest rates and lower income from the SA Group's investment portfolio. |
| The credit loss ratio (CLR) on core loans was 35bps (1H2025: 42bps), within the Group’s through-the-cycle (TTC) range of 25bps to 45bps. Expected credit loss (ECL) impairment charges decreased to £59.3 million (1H2025: £66.9 million). Overall credit quality remained strong, with no evidence of trend deterioration. |
| Return on equity (ROE) was 13.6% (1H2025: 13.9%) within the Group’s medium-term 13% to 17% target range. |
| Return on tangible equity (ROTE) of 15.7% (1H2025: 16.4%) is within the Group’s medium-term 14% to 18% target range. |
| Distribution to shareholders The Board has declared an interim dividend of 17.5p per share (1H2025: 16.5p), translating to a 43.2% payout ratio, within the Group’s current 35% to 50% payout policy. As part of the ongoing capital management process, the Group has repurchased c.R1.1 billion / c.£46 million of the R2.5 billion / c.£100 million share buy-back programme announced in May 2025. |
| Net asset value (NAV) per share increased to 608.1p (31 March 2025: 587.7p), driven by strong capital generation in the current period, partly offset by distribution to shareholders. Tangible net asset value (TNAV) per share increased to 527.9p (31 March 2025: 506.3p). |
| Earnings attributable to other equity holders reduced to £33.0 million (1H2025: £38.5 million) due to the normalisation of Additional Tier 1 (AT1) costs following the settlement of the remaining 2017 AT1 issuance in December 2024. |
| Key drivers: |
| Net core loans increased 8.0% annualised to £33.7 billion (31 March 2025: £32.4 billion) and grew by 5.8% annualised on a neutral currency basis, driven by growth across our diversified corporate lending portfolio, as well as private client lending books in both geographies. |
| Customer deposits increased by 3.6% annualised to £41.9 billion (31 March 2025: £41.2 billion) and grew by 1.4% annualised in neutral currency. In Southern Africa, we continued our strategy to optimise the liability mix, where non-wholesale deposit growth was 7.6% annualised, while wholesale deposits grew by 3.6% annualised. |
| Funds under management (FUM) in the Southern African wealth business increased by 13.4% to £26.5 billion (31 March 2025: £23.4 billion). Strong net inflows in our discretionary and annuity funds of R11.5 billion (£478 million) were supplemented by R5.2 billion (£215 million) additional FUM from a strategic acquisition by our Swiss operations in September 2025. This was partly offset by non-discretionary outflows of R7.8 billion (£325 million). |
| Our associate Rathbones reported Funds Under Management and Administration (FUMA) of £113.0 billion at 30 September 2025. |
| Balance sheet strength: |
| The Group remained well capitalised in both our anchor geographies, with Investec Limited reporting a CET1 ratio of 14.6% measured on the Advanced Internal Ratings-Based approach and the Investec plc CET1 ratio at 12.7% measured on the standardised approach. The UK business continues to make progress in its journey towards migrating its capital measurement from the standardised approach to the Internal Ratings-Based approach. |
| Capital allocation: |
| The Group is committed to optimising shareholder returns. We are focused on allocating capital to activities that generate returns above our cost of capital. The Group manages its capital dynamically, maintaining an appropriate balance between total returns to shareholders, investment in the business and holding strong capital levels. One of the Group’s priorities is to increase the earnings contribution from capital-light activities, and as such, the Group continues to evaluate organic and inorganic opportunities to achieve this objective. |
| Financial Outlook: |
| The global macroeconomic environment continues to face heightened uncertainty, creating volatility in economic forecasts and financial markets. We are continuously monitoring the evolving environment. The following statements are based on our current expectations for interest rates and economic conditions, and our guidance for FY2026 is as follows: |
| FY2026 Outlook |
| Revenue is expected to be supported by book growth, ongoing client activity and continued success in our client acquisition and entrenchment strategies, partly offset by the impact of lower average interest rates. |
| We expect Group performance in the second half of the financial year to be broadly in line with the current period. |
| The Group currently expects: |
- Group ROE to be c.13.7% within the 13.0% to 17.0% target range: ◦
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- Southern Africa is expected to report ROE of c.18.5%, within the target range of 16.0% to 20.0%
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- UK & Other is expected to report ROTE of c.13.6%, within the target range of 13.0% to 17.0%
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- Overall costs to be well managed in the context of inflationary pressures and continued investment in the business, with the cost-to-income ratio expected to be between 52.0% and 54.0%
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- The credit loss ratio is to be within the through-the-cycle (TTC) range of 25bps to 45bps. Southern Africa is expected to be around the lower end of the TTC range of 15bps to 35bps. The UK & Other credit loss ratio is expected to be around the upper end of the 50bps to 60bps previously guided range.
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| The Group has maintained robust capital and liquidity levels well above Board-approved minimums. The Group is well-positioned to continue to support our clients in navigating the current economic uncertainty and deliver on our clear strategy to enhance long-term shareholder returns. |
| Business updates |
| We remain committed to advancing our return on equity to the upper end of our target range by FY2030. |
| We are making progress on the strategic execution of our growth objectives; we are expanding our capability to support our clients in a differentiated approach, leveraging our heritage client franchises. |
| The Group will be hosting a Corporate mid-market business update today, which will set out a range of targets and present our plans to enhance the breadth of our client offering, increase our market share, and deliver significant incremental returns. |
| On 21 May 2026, post the Group's FY2026 results presentation, a detailed update on our Private Client growth initiatives will be provided. |
| For the full document, click the link below |
| Investec Limited |
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