Standard Bank expects 20pc fall in earnings

THE Standard Bank Group this week warned that it expects its earnings for the six months to end June to decline by more than 20 percent and is expecting to withhold paying an interim dividend as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to cause havoc in global markets.
The bank expects its headline earnings per share (Heps) and earnings per share (Eps) for the first half of the year to be more than 20 percent lower than the reported Heps of 837,4 cents a share and Eps of 827 cents reported last year.
However, the group said a high degree of uncertainty remains regarding the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic and the associated governmental responses will have on the economies in the markets in which the group operates, and in turn, on the group.
— IOL