IN spite of challenging economic conditions, Nedbank Group Limited has not only met but exceeded its financial objectives for the year ending December 31, 2023. This remarkable achievement underscores the bank's resilience and strategic prowess in navigating the region's economic challenges, including high inflation rates.
business
March 8, 2024
RETHABILE MOHONO
3 min read
Nedbank Group surpasses 2023 financial targets
SA Nedbank CEO, Mike Brown
Story highlights
The bank reports robust financial performance, with headline earnings increasing by 11% to M15.7 billion
Two targets were met in 2022, surpassing diluted headline earnings per share from 2019
The bank reported a robust financial performance, with headline earnings increasing by 11% to M15.7 billion and a notable 18% rise in the final dividend per share.
Headline earnings, a restatement of a company's profit, exclude one-time charges, write-downs, cost-cutting, and other extraordinary items. In essence, it represents the core earnings related to a company's primary business activities.
Nedbank's deliberate and strategic focus on growth, productivity, risk, and capital management has paid off, enabling the bank to meet all post-COVID targets set for 2023.
These achievements include a significant increase in diluted headline earnings per share (DHEPS) and maintaining the number one ranking on the Net Promoter Score (NPS) among South African banks.
Mike Brown, the Chief Executive Officer of Nedbank, expressed satisfaction with achieving all the group’s post-COVID targets for 2023, as announced in March 2021.
In 2022, two targets had already been met, surpassing diluted headline earnings per share from 2019.
Brown highlighted the outstanding performance of the Nedbank Africa Region (NAR), attributing its success to enhanced operations in the Southern African Development Cooperation (SADC) region, covering Lesotho, eSwatini, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and representative offices in Ghana.
Additionally, Nedbank Group holds a 21.2% share in Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), a leading pan-African banking group with a presence in 35 sub-Saharan African countries.
As Brown approaches the end of his 14-year tenure as CEO, he reflects on the achievements and challenges he has overcome during his leadership.
He expressed confidence in leaving behind a stronger Nedbank for his successor, Jason Quinn, who will inherit solid foundations for building a better future for all stakeholders.
Nedbank Group's balance sheet remains robust, and following strong earnings growth, along with solid capital and liquidity positions, the group declared a final dividend of 1,022 cents per share.
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Brown emphasised the bank's digital excellence, citing Nedbank’s world-class technology platform delivered through the Managed Evolution (ME) programme, which is 95% complete.
This has contributed to double-digit growth in various digital metrics, including client satisfaction scores, cross-selling, main-banked client gains, market share gains, and improved efficiencies.
In 2023, the NAR business witnessed a surge in digitally active clients, accounting for 64% of the total active client base.
The Nedbank Money app also experienced significant growth, with 2.3 million active clients, marking a 16% increase.
Transaction volumes on the Money app grew by 18%, while transaction values saw a 19% increase.
Brown concluded by noting positive ratings for the Nedbank Money (Africa) app on both Apple and Google app stores, with a lifetime client rating of 3.9 (out of five) in eSwatini, Lesotho, and Namibia, surpassing many competitor apps in terms of ratings.
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