FirstRand - Trading Statement In Respect Of The Financial Year Ending 30 June

FirstRand - Trading Statement In Respect Of The Financial Year Ending 30 June   
            2005                                                                
Firstrand Limited                                                               
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)                                  
(Registration number: 1966/010753/06)                                           
ISIN : ZAE000066304                                                             
Share Code (JSE) : FSR                                                          
Share Code (NSX) :FST                                                           
("FirstRand" or "the Company")                                                  
TRADING STATEMENT IN RESPECT OF THE FINANCIAL YEAR ENDING 30 JUNE 2005          
In compliance with the JSE Securities Exchange South Africa Listings            
Requirements, FirstRand shareholders are advised that the group"s headline      
earnings per share (which includes translation gains or losses) and fully       
diluted headline earnings per share for the financial year ending 30 June 2005  
are expected to exceed the comparative period by between 20% and 25%.           
This is due to the following primary reasons:                                   
- FirstRand"s businesses are benefiting from the favourable operating           
environment for financial services;                                             
- The significant currency translation loss (R370 million), incurred during the 
2004 financial year, is not expected to re-occur in the 2005 financial year     
given the current Rand:US Dollar Exchange rate.                                 
FirstRand has previously announced that it had disposed of its wholly-owned     
subsidiary, Ansbacher Holdings Limited. Included in the attributable earnings is
a transfer from currency translation reserves of R396 million arising from this 
disposal. This amount is excluded from the calculation of headline earnings. As 
a consequence, attributable earnings will exceed that of the corresponding      
reporting period by between 25% and 30%.                                        
The financial information on which this trading statement is based has not been 
reviewed and reported on by the Company"s auditors.                             
The full details of the financial results will be released on SENS on 20        
September 2005 and published in the press on 21 September 2005.                 
2 June 2005                                                                     
Sandton                                                                         
Merchant Bank and Sponsor                                                       
RAND MERCHANT BANK                                                              
(A division of FirstRand Bank Limited)                                          
Date: 03/06/2005 09:16:20 AM Supplied by www.sharenet.co.za                     
Produced by the JSE SENS Department