Health insurance giant and expanding banking group Discovery is expecting profits to surge by as much as 35% for the year to the end of June 2023, which saw its share price firm by almost 3% on Tuesday.
Despite also warning about the impact of higher interest rates on its business in a voluntary trading update, the Sandton-based company noted that normalised headline earnings per share (Heps) is expected to be 30-35% higher, to between 1 151.2 cents and 1 195.4 cents, compared to its 2022 financial year.
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Heps is the key profit measure of most JSE-listed companies.
“The reporting year coincided with considerable macro-economic volatility, with significant movements of interest rates within the markets in which Discovery operates,” it said.
“The headline earnings impact of higher rates in the United Kingdom was more muted over the reporting year, as the hedging strategy proved effective despite significant market volatility.”
It noted however that: “The sizeable increase in both real and nominal interest rates in South Africa had a more pronounced impact on headline earnings over the reporting period.”
Discovery’s share price
