Sanlam eyes jump in earnings

Johannesburg - Sanlam [JSE:SLM] said on Thursday that despite the impact of the adverse economic conditions in 2009 it achieved satisfactory operating results for the year to 31 December 2009. The 29% increase in the JSE All Share Index during 2009 had a positive impact on the level of investment return achieved for the year, it said.

Its headline earnings per share, including the IFRS impact of Sanlam shares held by the policyholders' funds, are expected to be between 60% and 70% higher than for the corresponding period in 2008.

Normalised HEPS are expected to be between 130% and 140% higher. The percentage increase in normalised HEPS is lower than that reported in the operational update issued early in December 2009 in respect of the ten months to October 2009. This is due to the lower relative investment market performance in the last two months of the year compared to the same period in 2008, the group noted.

Growth in core earnings per share is expected to be approximately in line with the -2% reported for the six months to June 2009, it said.

Sanlam's results are expected to be released on March 11.

- I-Net Bridge