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Johannesburg - The country's biggest banking group in terms of assets, Standard Bank Group [JSE:SBK] reported a smaller-than-expected fall in full-year profit, helped by improving bad loans and said it would continue to cut costs.
Standard Bank, which is 20% owned by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, reported diluted headline EPS of 708.6 cents in the year to end-December, down 5% from 744.7 cents a year earlier.
That compares with the median estimate of 699.5 cents in a survey of 12 analysts by Thomson Reuters.
Headline earnings, the main gauge of profit in South Africa, exclude certain one-time items.
The bank said in December its full-year profit would likely drop as much as 12%, hit by lower revenue and the cost of recent jobs.
Standard Bank, which like its rivals was hit by a 2009 recession that squeezed consumer demand and corporate activity, has been slower to recover.
The bank said last year it would cut more than 2 000 jobs, a move analysts said was long overdue after years of rapid expansion and ballooning costs.
Standard Bank CEO Jacko Maree said last year it would slow down the roll out of new branches cut some smaller business lines.
Media have speculated the bank will eventually sell its 36 percent stake in Russian bank Troika Dialog to rein in costs. Standard has been mum on the Russian stake.
Net interest income, a measure of earnings from lending, totalled R28.7bn, compared with R31.3bn a year earlier.
A results presentation on the bank's website before the release of earnings showed net interest income at R28.93bn.
Credit impairment charges, or bad debts costs, totalled R7.5bn compared with R12.1bn a year earlier.
Shares of Standard Bank are down more than 8% so far this year, making it the worst performer on Johannesburg's index of bank stocks.
Standard Bank, which is 20% owned by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, reported diluted headline EPS of 708.6 cents in the year to end-December, down 5% from 744.7 cents a year earlier.
That compares with the median estimate of 699.5 cents in a survey of 12 analysts by Thomson Reuters.
Headline earnings, the main gauge of profit in South Africa, exclude certain one-time items.
The bank said in December its full-year profit would likely drop as much as 12%, hit by lower revenue and the cost of recent jobs.
Standard Bank, which like its rivals was hit by a 2009 recession that squeezed consumer demand and corporate activity, has been slower to recover.
The bank said last year it would cut more than 2 000 jobs, a move analysts said was long overdue after years of rapid expansion and ballooning costs.
Standard Bank CEO Jacko Maree said last year it would slow down the roll out of new branches cut some smaller business lines.
Media have speculated the bank will eventually sell its 36 percent stake in Russian bank Troika Dialog to rein in costs. Standard has been mum on the Russian stake.
Net interest income, a measure of earnings from lending, totalled R28.7bn, compared with R31.3bn a year earlier.
A results presentation on the bank's website before the release of earnings showed net interest income at R28.93bn.
Credit impairment charges, or bad debts costs, totalled R7.5bn compared with R12.1bn a year earlier.
Shares of Standard Bank are down more than 8% so far this year, making it the worst performer on Johannesburg's index of bank stocks.
