Sanlam : Delivers Resilient Results

The Sanlam Corporate cluster achieved exceptional growth of 31% in its net result from financial services. Group risk profit increased by 55%, supporting overall growth of 26% in Sanlam Employee Benefits' net result from financial services. Sanlam Healthcare Management, which predominantly includes the Group's stake in Medscheme, also achieved sterling growth of 49%, benefiting from new schemes and an increase in the number of members under administration.

The Group utilised discretionary capital for some strategic transactions during the first half of 2017. These included, among others, the acquisition of an additional 16.6% stake in Saham Finances and the acquisition of a controlling stake in PineBridge Investments East Africa, now called Sanlam Investments East Africa.

As at 30 June 2017, the Group had unallocated discretionary capital of R2 billion, of which R100 million will be utilised for the acquisition of a 30% stake in EasyEquities, an innovative investment platform business. The balance of the discretionary capital available remains earmarked for value-accretive investment opportunities.

'We expect the economic and operating environment to remain challenging for various reasons across our footprint for the remainder of the year. However, we are confident that our staff and management will continue to diligently execute on the strategic priorities we have identified and we believe this will sustain our performance going forward,' Mr Kirk concluded.

Details of the results for the six months ended 30 June 2017 are available at www.sanlam.com.