Investec Group

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Investec pre-closed conference call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. There will be an opportunity to ask questions later during the conference. If you should need assistance during the call, please send a message in the Q&A chat. Please also note that this call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Investec Group Chief Executive, Mr. Fani Titi. Please go ahead, sir.

Thank you, Donald, and good morning, Mark. Thank you for joining us for our pre-closed trading update. This update reflects the financial performance for the 11 months ended 28th February 2026 and the expected results for the year ending 31st March 2026. I'm joined this morning by Nitin Samuj, our Group Finance Director, Ruth Lees, the CEO of our UK business in Kibush Mudlia, the CEO of our South African business. The group is expected to deliver a resilient performance reflecting the strength of our client franchises and diversified revenue streams. We are making progress on the strategic growth agenda outlined in May 2025. The investment in our corporate mid-market, private client segments and the ongoing modernization of our operating and digital platforms is on track. As part of our capital management, We have now completed the £2.5 billion rent or £110 million share buyback programme announced in May last year. Turning to the performance for the 11 months ended 28 February 2026. Revenue was supported by increased land activity levels, higher average advances as well as net inflows in our wealth business. This was counterbalanced by the negative impact of lower average interest rates. Fixed operating costs growth reflected continued investment in people and technology, particularly in building and modernizing transactional banking capabilities, as well as driving strategic and regulatory projects to enhance business resilience and support growth. Looking at the underlying drivers for our court-line franchises, Net core loans from our banking businesses increased by 7.4% annualized in mutual currency and by 13.3% annualized in reported currency to £36.3 billion, benefiting from the 9.5% appreciation of the rent to pound sterling compared to 31st March 2025. Growth was driven across our private line lending and corporate lending books in both geographies. Customer deposits increased by 5.7% annualized in neutral currency and by 11.5% in reported currency to £45.5 billion. Funds under management in our South African wealth and investment business increased by 26.7% since 31st March 2025 to £29.6 billion at 28th February 2026. We saw strong inflows in discretionary funds which were partly offset by outflows in non-discretionary funds. So for the year ending 31st March 2026, we expect to report the following. Adjusted earnings pressure to be between 3 and 6% ahead of the prior year. Cost to income ratio to be between 52 and 54%. Pre-provision adjusted operating profit to be between 3 and 5% ahead of prior year. Trade loss ratio to be within the through the cycle range of 25 to 45 basis points. Group ROE to be between 13.3 and 13.7%. This being within the group's medium term target range of 13 to 17%. Group ROT to be between 15 and 16% within the 14 to 18% medium term range. The group has robust capital and liquidity levels to deliver on our clear strategy to enhance long-term shareholder returns. We are focused on growing market share, deepening client relationships and driving incremental returns while maintaining cost discipline and capital efficiency. I will now turn the call over to questions.

Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, if you would like to ask a question, please use your hand. Once you have been identified, please unmute yourself and ask your question. You may also type your question in the Q&A chat. If you decide to withdraw your question, please lower your raised hand. Again, if you would like to ask a question, please use the Teams functionality to raise your hand or type your question in the Q&A chat. Our first question is from Harry Bota of Bank of America. Please go ahead.