Good financial results for Barclays Africa |14 February 2014

Barclays Africa has announced recording good financial results for the year 2013, with a 10% increase of its net operating income.

Barclays Africa chief executive Maria Ramos made the announcement during a press conference in Johannesburg on Tuesday afternoon, in the presence of her deputy chief executive David Hodnett.
 
The press conference was transmitted live by radio to other Barclays’ branches throughout Africa. In Seychelles, the radio transmission was followed by the company’s acting managing director Antoine Esther, head of corporate affairs Colleen Morel and other staff members at the bank’s Market branch on Albert Street.

Mrs Ramos has said that the good results are the consequence of the company’s One Africa Strategy which is gaining momentum in line with its market expectations. Under the One Africa Strategy, all of Barclays’ branches in Africa have been grouped in one entity known as Barclays Africa Group Limited, which is listed on the South African Stock Exchange.

Mrs Ramos has described the new strategy as an important landmark for Barclays.

“It is an important landmark for our franchise. We now have a unique platform combining a powerful local bank, a powerful regional bank and a powerful global player,” she commented.

Among other financial successes recorded last year, the company has seen a 35% increase in its retail and business banking operations, while its Return on Equity (ROE) has improved by 13.5% for the whole Africa group. Mrs Ramos has explained that this has been done by meeting higher capital requirements.

Altogether, the company has recorded a net operating profit of 42 million South African rands for the year 2013.

The Barclays Africa chief executive has said that the results show significant potential for future growth, where the company will be happy to take part in the deepening of the continent’s financial market by means of ambitious targets. These include building and expanding insurance business in east Africa, continued investment in corporate banking and an overall branch transformation project.

Among the results expected for 2014 is an ROE of 18 to 20% and an increase in revenue of 20 to 25%, more than doubling that of 2013.

“We have the right structure, the right plans and the right people in place. […] If we execute all those priorities we will become among the top three banks by revenue and the destination of choice for our clients,” Mrs Ramos has promised.

If the branch transformation project promises a 10% increase in the allowances earned by Barclays Bank’s top executives, banking analysts however fear a decrease of about 10,000 jobs.

Commenting on the financial results, Barclays’ Seychelles acting managing director Antoine Esther said that most companies in the Barclays Group have done better compared to 2012. On a local note, he has observed that Barclays is undoubtedly one of the leading banks in Seychelles, with a mid-market performance compared to the biggest African markets which are Egypt, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya and Botswana. As a matter of comparison, it is interesting to note that the Seychelles branch has performed better than its Uganda counterpart.

Mr Esther has stated the bank’s current commercial mortgage programme with 4.9% interest as one of the latest customers’ satisfaction. He concluded that while the priority is to develop business banking, Barclays’ aim remains to help its customers.