After tough 3 years, Sanlam sets sights on growth in India and rest of Africa

Sanlam, the largest non-bank financial services group on the continent, is setting sights on growth in India and the rest of Africa after having strengthened its position in SA through hefty acquisitions. 

The Bellville-headquartered insurance and investment group reported a 26% jump in net results from financial services to about R6.2 billion for the six months to end June, with headline earnings, a profit measure that strips out once-off items, more than doubling to R6.9 billion. Basic profit attributable to shareholders rose 56% to 389c per share.

CEO Paul Hanratty told News24 the strong financial performance for the fiscal half-year marked a turning point for Sanlam after a series of negative events, which included the Covid-19 pandemic, extreme weather that drove higher claims and a weak economy that weighed on client retention. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, and the subsequent market volatility and inflation that sparked, also hit its asset management division’s performance.