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Results for the year ended 31 December 2020 and trading statement for the six months to 30 June 2021
NEDBANK GROUP LIMITED
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
Registration number: 1966/010630/06
JSE share code: NED
NSX share code: NBK
ISIN: ZAE000004875
JSE alpha code: NEDI
('Nedbank Group' or 'the group')
RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020 AND TRADING STATEMENT FOR THE
SIX MONTHS TO 30 JUNE 2021
In a very difficult operating environment, Nedbank Group remained
resilient, made good strategic progress and delivered an improved financial
performance in the second half of the year.
The year 2020 was unprecedented as the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent
lockdowns led to a rapid slowdown in global economic growth. In SA the
pandemic and resultant domestic lockdowns had a severe impact on economic
activity as the country's GDP declined by 7,0%, the largest fall in this
metric since World War II. Businesses and individuals came under severe
pressure and transactional volumes fell significantly in Q2 2020 before
recovering somewhat in the second half of the year. In response to the
economic crisis the SARB cut interest rates by 300 bps, which proved
beneficial to clients’ cashflow as instalments on floating-rate loans
declined, but this also resulted in lower endowment income for Nedbank. On
the back of these economic pressures, job losses increased and many
clients’ current and future ability to repay debt declined, resulting in
higher levels of impairment charges, now determined under more-forward-
looking IFRS 9 models. Despite these challenges, the SA banking sector and
Nedbank demonstrated strong levels of resilience and was able to support
clients while remaining well capitalised, liquid and profitable, albeit at
levels lower than in the prior year.
Nedbank’s primary focus has been on the health and safety of our
stakeholders, including employees and clients, as well as on helping our
clients in good standing to navigate the financial challenges that arose in
their business and personal finances. At the peak of the crisis we
supported our clients with cashflow relief on more than R120bn of loans. We
are pleased that our clients reduced this level of support to R28bn by the
end of the year as economic conditions improved. We pivoted our strategy to
focus on resilience and maintaining a well-capitalised and liquid balance
sheet. Capital and liquidity ratios remained strong and most finished the
year at higher levels than those reported in June, reflected in our tier 1
capital ratio of 12,1% (June 2020: 11,7%), CET1 ratio of 10,9% (June 2020:
10,6%), average fourth-quarter LCR of 126% (June 2020: 114,5%) and NSFR of
113% (June 2020: 114%) – all well above regulatory minima. Overall
impairment coverage also increased from 2,26% in 2019 to 3,25% at year-end.
We remain on high alert for the risks associated with new rounds of
infections and variants and continue to monitor the effect that new
lockdown restrictions may have on our clients and the economy as a whole.
The impact of the very difficult operating environment was evident in
Nedbank Group’s HE for the year ended 31 December 2020, as it declined by
56,5% to R5,4bn, compared to a decline of 69,2% in H1 2020. Nedbank
remained solidly profitable and, despite the challenges of forecasting in
such a complex environment, performed in line with the guidance we provided
to the market, supported by an improved financial performance in H2 2020.
HE for the year was affected by higher impairments and lower revenues,
mainly due to lower levels of client activity and the impact of lower
interest rates on endowment income. Expenses were well managed and declined
by 1,3% from the prior period. Our ROE of 6,2% was lower than in the year
before but improved from the 4,8% reported in H1. Improving the ROE from
these levels back to above our cost of equity is a key focus of management.
Despite our strong capital and liquidity position at 31 December, having
considered the spirit of Prudential Authority Guidance Notes 4/2020 and
3/2021 and noting growth opportunities and our responsibility to support
clients and the economy, alongside the current uncertainty about the
progression of the virus, possible future waves, and the vaccine rollout
and its effectiveness, the group has decided not to declare a final
dividend for 2020. Based on our current forecasts the group expects to
resume dividend payments when reporting interim results in 2021.
We made excellent progress on our goal of delivering market-leading client
experiences, as is evident in improved client satisfaction rankings. In the
2020 Consulta survey Nedbank increased its position to number two in the
Net Promoter Score (NPS) among the five large SA banks, and maintained the
second-highest-rated position in the SAcsi survey on customer satisfaction.
During the lockdown our digital capabilities were vital as we launched
various innovations such as Avo (our super app). We also introduced more
retail digital onboarding (Eclipse) capabilities to new products such as
investments, cards and overdrafts, and started the rollout of juristic
client onboarding. This resulted in retail digital sales increasing to 49%
of all sales (2019: 21%) and digitally active clients increasing by 25% to
2,2m. Our digital successes were underpinned by our Managed Evolution (ME)
technology strategy, which is materially complete for all the foundation
projects and overall 78% complete (2019: 70%). Our Target Operating Model
1.0 (TOM 1.0) optimisation programme recorded additional savings of R675m
in 2020, translating to cumulative savings of R1,8bn to end-2020.
The group’s long-term sustainability journey continues. Our focus remains
on the delivery of the United Nations SDGs and we look forward to
publishing our first TCFD report as part of our integrated reporting suite
in April 2021.
The Nedbank franchise is well positioned for growth, as reflected in our
‘Reimagine’ strategy, which includes delivering market-leading client
solutions, unlocking value through our Strategic Portfolio Tilt 2.0 and
Target Operating Model 2.0 (TOM 2.0) initiatives, and leading sustainably
as we deliver on our purpose of using our financial expertise to do good
for all our stakeholders.
Forecasting remains difficult in a volatile health and economic
environment, but we currently expect the country's GDP to increase by 3,4%
in 2021. Given the economic forecasts from the Nedbank Group Economic Unit,
our strategic drivers and particularly our expectation of an ongoing
improvement in the credit loss ratio, our current guidance on financial
performance for the half-year 2021 is to grow HEPS and EPS by more than
20%, as referred to in our trading statement.
We have revised our medium-term targets* so that they reflect the current
environment, and by 2023 we aim to exceed our 2019 diluted HEPS level of 2
565 cents, achieve an ROE greater than the 2019 ROE level of 15%, reduce
our cost-to-income ratio to below 54%, and rank number one on the NPS among
SA banks.
We thank all our committed Nedbank employees for remaining resilient during
an extraordinarily difficult time, and for continuing to follow the Covid-
19 health protocols while diligently supporting our clients and the economy
throughout this crisis. We extend our deepest condolences to the families,
friends and communities of employees and clients who have succumbed to
Covid-19 and related illnesses.
Mike Brown
Chief Executive
* These above-mentioned targets are not profit forecasts and have not been
reviewed or reported on by the group’s joint auditors.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Headline earnings R5 440m, down 56,5% (2019: R12 506m)
- Revenue R54 221m, down 3,5% (2019: R56 164m)
- Credit loss ratio 161 bps (2019: 79 bps)
- Expenses R31 772m, down 1,3% (2019: R32 179m)
- Cost-to-income ratio 58,1% (2019: 56,5%)
- Diluted headline earnings per share 1 113 cents, down 56,6% (2019:
2 565 cents)
- Headline earnings per share 1 126 cents, down 56,8% (2019: 2 605
cents)
- Basic earnings per share 717 cents, down 71,3% (2019: 2 500 cents)
- No final dividend per share (2019: 695 cents)
- No full year dividend per share (2019: 1 415 cents)
- Net asset value per share 18 391 cents, up 1,0% (2019: 18 204 cents)
- Common-equity tier 1 ratio 10,9% (2019: 11,5%)
This short-form announcement is the responsibility of the directors. It is
only a summary of the information contained in the full announcement and
does not contain full or complete details. Any investment decision should
be based on the full announcement, which can be accessed from Wednesday, 17
March 2021, using the following JSE link:
https://senspdf.jse.co.za/documents/2021/jse/isse/ned/ye2020.pdf
Alternatively, the full announcement is available on our website at
https://www.nedbank.co.za/content/nedbank/desktop/gt/en/investor-
relations/information-hub/financial-results/2020.html
The full announcement is available for inspection at Nedbank's registered
office on weekdays from 09:00 to 16:00 by appointment only, in accordance
with Covid-19 restrictions, and copies thereof may be requested free of
charge from Nedbank Investor Relations at NedgroupIR@Nedbank.co.za.
The auditors’ unmodified report (with key audit matters) to the
shareholders of Nedbank Group, is contained in our annual financial
statements for the year-ended 31 December 2020. The annual financial
statements can be accessed using the following link to our annual financial
statements at
https://www.nedbank.co.za/content/nedbank/desktop/gt/en/investor-
relations/information-hub/financial-results/2020.html
This announcement itself is not audited and therefore the audit report does
not cover this announcement.
TRADING STATEMENT FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDING 30 JUNE 2021
HEPS and basic EPS for the six months ending 30 June 2021 are expected to
increase by more than 20% (HEPS greater than 525,6 cents and basic EPS
greater than 324 cents) when compared with those in the six-month period
ended 30 June 2020 (HEPS: 438 cents, basic EPS: 270 cents). A further
trading statement will be issued to provide more specific guidance when
there is reasonable certainty about the extent of the increase and the
relevant HEPS and basic EPS ranges.
Shareholders are advised that the information in this trading statement has
not been reviewed or reported on by the group’s joint auditors.
For and on behalf of the board
Mpho Makwana Mike Brown
Acting Chairman Chief Executive
17 March 2021
Directors
V Naidoo (Chairman), PM Makwana*** (Acting Chairman), MWT Brown** (Chief
Executive), HR Brody, BA Dames, MH Davis** (Chief Financial Officer), NP
Dongwana, EM Kruger, RAG Leith, L Makalima, Prof T Marwala, Dr MA Matooane,
MC Nkuhlu** (Chief Operating Officer), S Subramoney, IG Williamson.
** Executive *** Lead independent director
Registered office
Nedbank Group Limited, Nedbank 135 Rivonia Campus, 135 Rivonia Road,
Sandown, Sandton, 2196.
PO Box 1144, Johannesburg, 2000.
nedbankgroup.co.za
Sponsors in SA
Merrill Lynch SA Proprietary Limited, Nedbank CIB
Sponsor in Namibia
Old Mutual Investment Services (Namibia) (Proprietary) Limited
Company Secretary: J Katzin
Transfer secretaries in SA
JSE Investor Services (Pty) Limited, 19 Ameshoff Street, Braamfontein,
Johannesburg, 2001, SA.
PO Box 4844, Marshalltown, 2000, SA.
Transfer secretaries in Namibia
Transfer Secretaries (Proprietary) Limited, Robert Mugabe Avenue No 4,
Windhoek, Namibia.
PO Box 2401, Windhoek, Namibia.
Date: 17-03-2021 07:05:00
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