
One of South Africa’s largest lender, FirstRand, said today that its full-year profits were likely to be more than 20% lower than in 2019.
The unprecedented plummet of its profit is due to a spike in bad debts and falling revenues after the lockdown caused bu the Coronavirus pandemic.
FirstRand said it expects its headline earnings per share – the main profit measure in South Africa – for the year to June 30 to decline significantly from the 497.2 cents it reported last year.