Absa reports $600m in earnings for first six months

August 7, 2018 in Business, Companies, Finance by Editor

Ramos said the Group has ambitions to double its market share across Africa.

August 7, 2018—Absa Group Limited, Barclays Bank of Uganda Limited’s parent company, have reported an increase in earnings and income for the first half of 2018 and underscored its commitment to growth in Africa.

Previously known as Barclays Africa Group, Absa said headline earnings rose 3% to R8 billion (about $608 million) in the first six months of 2018 compared with the same period in 2017. Income increased by 3% to R37 billion (about $2.8 billion).

Chief executive officer, Maria Ramos, reiterated the Group’s ambition to double its share of banking revenues in Africa to 12% and said Absa is making progress on its innovation journey and in becoming a digitally-led bank.

In Kenya, Absa’s local subsidiary (Barclays Bank Kenya) launched Timiza – an app-based personal loans platform – in March this year. Timiza’s customer base has grown to more than two million by July 25.

Absa launched ChatBanking on WhatsApp banking and Samsung Pay as new propositions for its South Africa retail business this year. Uptake particularly in WhatsApp banking has exceeded expectation with more than 10 000 customers registering for ChatBanking on WhatsApp within the first 20 days of launching in July.

Rakesh Jha (below), the Managing Director of Barclays Bank of Uganda Limited said, “We have indeed started to bring possibility to life as one Absa across Africa and are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. In Uganda, we continue to make investments and strategic partnerships to improve our customers’ experience.”

He said, “The success of initiatives like the Shell EasyGo prepaid card powered by Barclays and the URA E-Pay

platform propel us towards becoming a truly transformative bank as they drive financial inclusion and provide a convenient way of paying taxes, respectively.”

Referring to its separation from the international Barclays Plc Group, Absa said the programme is on track and within budget. As part of the separation, the Group will rename its Barclays subsidiaries before mid-2020, as agreed with the international Barclays Plc group, subject to regulatory approvals. However Barclays continues to be an important stakeholder as ii still retains 14.9% of Absa Group.