Liberty gains on cash flows

Liberty, the insurer controlled by Standard Bank, says full-year profit rose 2.3 percent after its asset management unit recorded inflows.

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Johannesburg - Liberty Holdings, the insurer controlled by Standard Bank Group, said full-year profit rose 2.3 percent after its asset management unit recorded inflows.

Net income climbed to R4.01 billion ($257 million), from R3.92 billion a year earlier, Johannesburg-based Liberty said in a statement on Friday.

Earnings per share excluding one-time items advanced to R14.61, beating the median estimate of R14.32 by eight analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Liberty will pay a final dividend of R4.37 a share, it said.

Liberty, founded in South Africa by Donald Gordon almost 60 years ago, has a presence in 16 African countries, having followed Standard Bank into many of the markets.

Read also: Liberty makes big catch in Uganda

While it has said it intends to buy a Nigerian insurer and asset manager and may start a short-term insurer in Botswana, it announced an acquisition of 51 percent in Uganda’s Madhvani Group’s short-term insurer, East African Underwriters, in January.

BLOOMBERG