RMI Holdings: Earnings rise 18% on growth abroad

NORMALISED earnings at RMI Holdings rose 18 percent to R3 billion in the year to June, with strong growth from Discovery and OUTsurance driven largely by their offshore performance, the insurance-focused investment firm said yesterday. RMI’s market capitalisation rose 30 percent to R48.7bn, with the market value of its investments in Discovery and MMI up 16 percent and 18 percent, respectively, and the implied value of its unlisted investments (OUTsurance and RMBSI) up 47 percent. “Notwithstanding a challenging economic environment, all of the businesses in which RMI invests produced satisfying results,” the group said. It declared a final dividend of 62c a share, bringing the total dividend for the year to R1.08, up from 95c a year earlier. The group announced that a new investment team would consider opportunities across African financial services. “The scope of opportunities will initially be South African-focused and will include buy and build possibilities across a wide spectrum of scale and lifecycles of financial services businesses,” Herman Bosman, the chief executive designate, said. The shares rose 15c to R35.28. – Staff Reporter