Financial services group Alexforbes has capped its 2026 financial year with a bumper rise in assets, even as headline earnings stayed flat. The group reported closing assets of R733 billion for the year ended 31 March 2026 — a 22% jump that underscores its standing as one of South Africa's heavyweight money managers.
Assets and profit climb
Closing assets, which combine assets under administration and assets under management, rose 22% year on year to R733 billion. Operating income increased 10% to R4.9 billion, helped by higher average assets, positive investment performance, inflation-linked increases across its retirement client base, and stronger client retention.
Normalised profit from operations, which strips out an IFRS 16 lease adjustment, climbed 22% to R1,027 million. Including that adjustment, profit from operations before non-trading and capital items stood at R1,024 million, up 12%. Chief executive Dawie de Villiers described it as "another solid year", noting the group had been recognised as South Africa's best asset manager.
Earnings stay muted
The earnings picture was more mixed. Headline earnings per share from total operations slipped 5% to 67 cents, a movement the group attributed to the base effect of discontinued operations in the prior year. On a normalised basis, headline earnings of 69 cents a share were essentially flat.
Shareholders were not left empty-handed. The group declared a final cash dividend of 33 cents a share, taking the total annual dividend to 57 cents — up 4% on the year. De Villiers said Alexforbes had made progress in simplifying its business, strengthening accountability and improving how it serves clients, all of which fed into its high retention levels.
The result paints a picture of a group growing its scale steadily while the bottom line waits to catch up — a balance sheet getting bigger, with profitability the next box to tick.
Compiled by Business Bagel from reporting by BusinessTech.
