Momentum leads the pack after all its businesses report strong interim growth

MOMENTUM Group’s share price surged more than 10% on Thursday after it reported sector-leading growth in normalised headline earnings, which rose by a robust 44% to R3.4 billion for the six months ending December 31.

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In contrast, although not strictly comparable, Old Mutual reported a 14% increase in headline earnings for its financial year to December 31. Similarly, Sanlam reported a 37% increase in headline earnings per share for the same period, while Discovery also increased headline earnings by 37% for the six months to that date.

Momentum Group's share price ended 10.85% higher at R32.68 on Thursday, a price that was also 57% up from the R20.75 it traded at a year ago, indicating that investors may have anticipated the strong interim perfor- mance. The interim dividend increased by 42% to 85 cents. Shareholders also benefited from the R1bn share buyback during the period.

"This excellent set of results was achieved because every business in the group performed well. It was largely driven by management interventions to improve persistency and enhance the new business mix,’ CEO Jeanette Marais said in an interview on Thurs- day.