The Nedbank Group strengthened its financial performance in the year ending December 31, 2024, with net profits increasing 8% to R16.9 billion, according to figures released yesterday in Maputo by the financial institution.

Diluted net earnings per share increased by 11% and return on equity (ROE) strengthened to 15.8% from 15.1% in the previous period, reflecting steady progress towards its profitability targets.

The Group says that growth in net income was underpinned by good growth in service and commission income, a reduction in impairments and cautious management of expenses, thus offsetting modest growth in net interest income, due to slower growth in the loan portfolio and pressure on margins.

The balance sheet indicators remained very solid, allowing a final dividend of 1,104 cents per share to be declared, an increase of 8%, with a payout ratio of 57%.

Nedbank's CEO, Jason Quinn, stressed that despite the challenging economic environment, the bank had achieved significant successes from a strategic point of view.

"One of the milestones of 2024 was the fundamental completion of our technological transformation through the Managed Evolution IT program, which resulted in a renewed and modern technological platform. This platform, together with our strengthened digital capabilities, has underpinned strong digital growth, market-leading customer satisfaction metrics, a solid increase in the number of key customers and higher levels of cross sell."

"With our strategic portfolio orientation, we increased market share in key areas such as home loans, car finance, corporate term loans and retail deposits. We also continued to make progress in creating positive impacts by investing R183 billion in financing that supports sustainable development, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The 32% increase in renewable energy exposure, reaching almost R40 billion, and the award to Nedbank of significant renewable energy mandates in the fourth quarter of 2024 reinforce our leading position in this sector."

These achievements, among others, led to Nedbank being named South African Bank of the Year by the prestigious magazine The Banker.

In order to strengthen the execution of Nedbank's strategy, compete more effectively in the market, boost cross-selling and unlock new growth opportunities, the bank has begun an organizational restructuring of its Retail and Business Banking (RBB) and Wealth Management (Nedbank Wealth) units, moving towards a more customer-centric organizational model, with effect from 1 July 2025.

Digital retail transaction volumes and values in South Africa grew by 12%. The number of digitally active retail clients increased by 7% to 3.1 million, representing 70% of the bank's core retail clients, while digitally active clients in NAR (Nedbank Africa Regions) increased from 64% to 72% of its total active client base.

These digital innovations sustain high levels of customer satisfaction, as demonstrated by Nedbank's Net Promoter Score (NPS).

NAR's financial performance was impacted by various factors, the most important of which were one-off and non-recurring events. NAR's net results, excluding the reversal of the TSI of R175 million and the foreign exchange impact of Zimbabwe, grew by 14% to R1,619 million. However, with the inclusion of these impacts, net results fell by 14%.

Net income from subsidiaries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), excluding exchange rate gains, grew by 60%. However, when this impact is included, there is a decrease of 12.1%.

Nedbank Moçambique made a significant contribution to achieving these results, despite the demonstrations that began in the last quarter of 2024, destabilizing the business fabric. It stands out for making a significant contribution (24% of net income, up 38% on the previous period) to NAR's growth in 2024. The number of customers grew by 5% and the number of digital transactions by 13%. Cross-selling grew by 15%.

Also in 2024, the bank was recognized internationally with 4 awards in 2024, which consider Nedbank Mozambique to be an Innovative Bank and the best Digital Bank in Mozambique.