Johannesburg - Barclays Africa Group posted a 10-percent rise in full-year earnings on Tuesday, in line with expectations, after booking higher lending income and cutting bad debts.
The African subsidiary of Barclays PLC said diluted headline earnings per share totalled 1,537.5 cents in the year to end-December, from 1,396.6 cents a year earlier.
Analysts had pencilled a 9-percent increase in earnings.
Headline EPS, which excludes certain items, is the main measure of profit in South Africa.
Barclays said net interest income - the measure of income from lending - climbed 10 percent to R35.6 billion ($3 billion) while credit impairments contracted 10 percent to R6.3 billion.
Non-interest revenue came in 2 percent higher to R27.5 billion.
Barclays, South Africa's third-biggest lender by market value, is the second of the “big four” banks there to report full-year earnings.
Fourth-ranked Nedbank posted a 13 percent rise in earnings last month, boosted by higher lending income and a decrease in bad debts.
Its shares have gained 4.6 percent so far this year, lagging an 5.5 percent rise in the South African banking index.
Reuters