Discovery reports 30% increase in normalised headline earnings

DISCOVERY produced another strong annual financial performance from its busineses and it lifted normalised headline earnings 30% to R9.78 billion.

- EDWARD WEST

The final dividend was raised 32% to 201 cents. The share price fell by 4.16% to R216.35 on the JSE on Thursday afternoon, but the price is 40% higher than at the same time last year, indicating investors may well have foreseen the good earnings growth. In the year to June 30, normalised operating profit increased 29% to R15.21bn. Return on equity rose to 15.4% from 13.5%.

There was strong growth in normalised profit from operations in both composites: Discovery South Africa delivered 22% growth and Vitality generated 70%. Group chief executive Adrian Gore said in a statement the all-round strong performance was generated in an environment of increased geopolitical complexities and uncertainty around global policy shifts and trade tensions.

“The strong performance of Discovery South Africa highlights the contribution from each of our businesses.

And in Vitality, the performance reflects the competitive dynamics of the Vitality Shared-value Insurance model, with excellent progress in restructuring the global operations into a single focused business over the past nine months,” he said.