Nedcor Trading Statement

Old Mutual PLC 21 November 2002 OLD MUTUAL PLC Nedcor Limited Old Mutual plc ('Old Mutual') draws attention to the following announcement issued today by Nedcor Limited, the South African banking group in which it has a 53.2% holding: Nedcor Limited ('Nedcor') trading statement In line with international best practice and for the reasons set out below, a trading update is provided for the benefit of Nedcor's shareholders. A further update on the integration of BoE is also provided. This information will be contained in the trading update to be released by holding company Old Mutual plc on 25 November 2002. 2002 has been an eventful year for Nedcor, and for the South African banking sector. There has been extreme volatility in the value of the Rand, four successive interest rate hikes, troubles in the micro-lending industry, liquidity stress in or failure of some smaller banks, referred difficulties from unsettled global and other markets and competitiveness in the investment bank arena. Nedcor is pleased to have played its part in the return of stability to the South African banking sector by its successful acquisition of BoE Ltd (BoE) with effect from 2 July 2002. The acquisition of BoE then became a catalyst for an overall Nedcor Group re-organisation. Furthermore, in October 2002 Nedcor acquired the outstanding minority shareholders interests in Nedcor Investment Bank Holdings Ltd (NIB) which will enhance the Group's ability to extract potential synergies from the integration of Nedbank, BoE, NIB, Cape of Good Hope Bank Ltd and parts of Peoples Bank Ltd. It is pleasing to note that the Group's core operations are performing satisfactorily during these challenging times and are producing sound growth. Average organic advances growth of 15%, excluding BoE, has been achieved year-on-year to October 2002, and retail deposit growth has likewise been positive. As indicated at the update on 28 October 2002, the BoE integration is proceeding well and we anticipate that annualised cost synergy savings and rationalisation benefits of some R900m before tax will be achieved in 2005. BoE was under stress when it was acquired and we are pleased to report strong returns of deposit flows and good progress in most areas in its return towards expected profit levels. We have now concluded our initial review of the fair value of BoE assets at acquisition. The fair value of BoE's net assets at acquisition has been assessed and will be written down by some R700m. The largest adjustment is the write-off of R287m unamortised goodwill raised by BoE when it acquired Credcor, a consumer finance / micro-lender. Furthermore, one-off downward adjustments to bring BoE accounting policies into line with Nedcor's will amount to some R170m. These adjustments are consistent with the findings of the due diligence exercise conducted at the time of the acquisition. After these adjustments, resultant goodwill arising on the acquisition of BoE will be approximately R2.6bn, giving a price / book ratio of approximately 1.6 on acquisition. The BoE acquisition was paid for mainly in cash which reduced Nedcor's capital adequacy surplus. This provided an opportunity for Nedcor to simultaneously change the capital mix in favour of secondary capital, which is less expensive than traditional primary capital. An attractive alternative to traditional primary capital has now been identified in the form of non-redeemable non-cumulative preference shares, and this avenue is being pursued as a new source of capital to add beneficial diversity to the capital mix and to replenish the capital adequacy surplus. Nedbank's Business Banking division currently and historically has adopted a provisioning policy of Legal Certainty, which structures the income statement charge at the end of the collection cycle and usually leads to improved recoveries. A number of factors, including higher interest rates, deterioration of the book with age and poor security realisations, exacerbated by a slower court execution process, have led to declining collections in a portion of the non-performing book. This necessitated a re-evaluation of this book, conducted since the half year, which concludes that collections are likely to be below those previously anticipated. In these circumstances, it is appropriate to move towards a more dynamic policy of provisioning which inherently recognises provisions at an earlier stage. Provisions will therefore be accelerated this year, which will cause an additional charge against 2002 earnings of some R280m after tax. This will also achieve better consistency with the BoE portfolio, after having effected the pre-acquisition write-downs, which will make for an easier integration. In addition, both portfolios will be more in line with the loan loss impairment requirements of new accounting statement AC 133, which is effective from 1 January 2003. Nedcor's exposure to the micro-loan industry is held through Peoples Bank, where the exposure is shared with Capital One, and through BoE's Credcor. The Group's net micro-loan exposure of R1.2bn, after provisioning, represents less than one half percent of total group assets of approximately R270bn. Both micro-loan operations are adopting a cautious approach to new lending and provide dynamically at an early stage for potential bad debts. Despite this cautious lending approach, the micro-loan operations are currently reporting losses, against originally budgeted profits, reflecting the difficult conditions of the micro-lending market. The impact on Nedcor's earnings of additional provisions raised in 2002 will be some R50m after tax. Nedcor intends to account for the above largely once-off bad debt provisions in its 2002 results. While this will adversely impact upon 2002 results, core operational earnings exclusive of these factors are currently satisfactory. The recognition now of the financial impact of these provisions is expected to position Nedcor favourably in the 2003 financial year. Headline earnings, which include the effects of losses arising on translation of integrated foreign operations, are currently depressed by the continuing strength in the value of the Rand. The investment in Dimension Data was written down to R6.45 per share at 30 June 2002 and will again be marked to market at year-end. At Dimension Data's current market price of R4.00, a further exceptional loss of some R250m would be incurred. On a longer term basis, the anticipated ongoing benefits of the integration and consolidation process recently announced, and the strength of the combined Group, provide a sound foundation for future growth. Subject to regulatory approval, the integration is on schedule and restructuring is anticipated to commence from January 2003. With the BoE merger, our primary focus remains on banking in South Africa. Given a stronger and more stable Rand and higher levels of growth, we remain positive about the period ahead. 21 November 2002 ENQUIRIES: Old Mutual, London Tel: +44 20 7569 0100 James Poole College Hill, London Tel: +44 20 7457 2020 Tony Friend This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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