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Johannesburg - Investec [JSE:INL], the South African
investment bank and asset manager, reported a 5.6% dip in nine-month profit on
Friday, hit by a decline in principal transaction income as the deal flow
remains thin.
A $2bn bank that is also listed in London, Investec has been
building its wealth management and other fee-generating businesses to make up
for shrinking demand for credit and as tougher regulations tie up more capital.
Investec announced last week it plans to buy Irish unlisted
broker and wealth manager NCB for €32m, shortly after another acquisition of
British investment bank Evolution Group for £233m in 2011.
Investec said earnings from principal transactions shrunk by
nearly a third in the nine months to end December.
Net interest income was 7.7% above the previous year’s while
net fees and commissions increased by 16.3%.
Investec shares are up over 12% so far this year but had declined 0.46% to R49.51 at 10:47 GMT, compared to a 0.55% fall in Johannesburg’s index of blue chips.
