South African bank Absa has reported that its first half headline earnings have increased by 24.6% from the same period last year.
Headline earnings per share increased by 22.5% to 454.8 cents per share. Diluted headline earnings per share of 434.9 cents represented a 19.6% rise.
The bank, in which UK group Barclays holds a majority share, attributed the improvement to the strong growth in consumer lending, with income from loans rising 21%. Net interest income increased by 21.1%, driven by strong loan advances growth of 23.7% and stable margins.
The bank said it was confident of seeing the growth continue in the near future.