FirstRand Ltd. is exploring opportunities in western Africa such as Nigeria as the continent’s biggest bank by market value looks to grow their contribution to earnings.
The Johannesburg-based firm is considering expanding its operations in Ghana and Nigeria as it seeks to become a top-three lender in the two key West African markets.
“From a macroeconomic point of view, Ghana and Nigeria are actually going through a much better period than they’ve had in the past because of the structural reforms they embarked upon, so we are looking very constructively at growing in those markets,” FirstRand Chief Executive Officer Mary Vilakazi said in an interview with Bloomberg.
Earlier, the lender announced that interim profit rose to a record as it earned more from fees and commissions and as growth in loans boosted revenue.
Normalized earnings jumped 11% to 23.2 billion rand ($1.4 billion) in the six months through December from a year earlier. FirstRand also declared an interim dividend of 2.59 rand per share.
Non-interest revenue climbed 12% as sustained momentum in the insurance business, a significant rebound in the performance of the global-markets unit and further private equity realizations lifted fees and commissions.
Net interest income grew 7.7%, driven by improving advances growth from its lending books in South Africa, broader Africa and the UK.
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