Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) listed company Old Mutual Limited has excluded the southern African country from its seasonal adjusted headline earnings (‘AHE’), the group’s primary profit metric, citing the nation’s hyperinflationary environment.
Old Mutual Limited released a trading statement indicating positive financial performance for the year ended December 31, 2023.
The statement, however, did not include Zimbabwe due to the economic and financial turmoil facing the country.
“Adjusted headline earnings (‘AHE’) growth was further bolstered by increased shareholder investment returns as a result of increased interest rates and a recovery in equity markets.
“We exclude the Zimbabwe profits from AHE as the economy is currently hyperinflationary resulting in earnings volatility. The main contributor to the higher level of growth in headline earnings relative to AHE is higher shareholder portfolio profits in the Zimbabwean business.”
The company expects to report strong growth in key profit measures compared to 2022.
Old Mutual, a premium African financial services group that offers a broad spectrum of financial solutions to retail and corporate customers across key market segments in 14 countries, anticipates Revenue From Operations (RFO) to be within the range of R7.749 billion to R9.211 billion, reflecting a growth of 6% to 26%.
The group expects AHE to be between R5.481 billion and R6.451 billion, indicating a growth of 13% to 33%.
The company said headline earnings are projected to be in the range of R6.792 billion to R7.963 billion, reflecting a growth of 16% to 36%. The positive performance is attributed to strong operational performance and exceptional growth in new business across various segments.
Professor Steve Hanke’s latest inflation data reveals that Zimbabwe’s economic woes are worsening as inflation reaches a shocking 1605%.
The nation eagerly awaits the upcoming Monetary Policy Statement, yearning for a solution to the escalating economic turmoil.
This comes at a time when the El-Nino induced drought is taking a toll on the country’s food security situation.
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