Standard Bank says its profit for the half year ended June 30 2013 is expected to be more than 30 percent higher than the prior year.
In the half year ended June 2012, the bank saw its after-tax profit increasing by 54 percent to K4.3 billion from K1.6 billion in 2011.
In a trading statement signed by company secretary Etness Chanza, the Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE) –listed bank, however, said the information on which the trading statement is based has not been reviewed or reported on by the bank’s auditors.
By releasing the profit forecast, the bank is just obliging to the listing requirements of MSE which requires a listed company to publish a trading statement as soon as there is a reasonable degree of certainty that the financial results for the period to be reported upon will differ by at least 20 percent in nominal terms, from that of the previous corresponding period.
In the year ended December 2012, the banks grew its profit by 125 percent to K7.9 billion from K3.5 billion the year before, beating by far its forecast, despite operating in hostile economic environment.
