Investec, a leading financial-services company, has announced that it anticipates a significant increase in adjusted operating pretax profit for the first half of its fiscal year. The company attributes this growth to robust performance in both its U.K. and South African units. Furthermore, Investec expects its return on equity to meet its guidance during this period.
According to Investec’s statement released on Friday, the company projects an adjusted pretax operating profit of £428.7 million to £449.6 million ($527.1 million-$552.8 million) for the first six months ending on September 30. This figure excludes any exceptional or one-off items and represents a substantial improvement from the £405.0 million recorded in the same period last year.
Investec attributes this rise in profit to several factors, including ongoing client acquisition, favorable effects from higher global interest rates, and year-on-year growth in average lending books.
The company predicts that its U.K. business will achieve an adjusted operating profit at least 25% higher than the prior year’s £174.4 million. Similarly, it anticipates a minimum 5% increase in the same metric for its South African business, compared to £230.6 million previously.
Investec aims for its return on equity to fall within the midpoint of its target range of 12% to 16%. Additionally, it expects headline earnings per share to range between 33.8 and 35.8 pence, up from 32.0 pence in the previous year.