Investec sees FY operating profit and revenue rising

FTSE 250 wealth manager Investec said on Tuesday that it expects operating profit for the year to be "comfortably ahead" and revenue "well ahead" of the previous year.

Investec expects its asset management and wealth & investment divisions' results to be ahead of the year before as both have benefitted from higher levels of average funds under management supported by a recovery in equity markets.

The specialist banking businesses are also expected to post numbers ahead of the prior year, with the UK arm seen reporting "significantly higher" results. The South African business is likely to be marginally behind the prior year in rands and well ahead in sterling.

For the period from 31 March 2016 to 28 February 2017, third party assets under managements rose 24.3% to £151.2bn, while customer accounts were up 23.1% to £29.6bn.

Meanwhile, core loans and advances increased 27.1% to £23bn.

"Significant macro events over the financial year have impacted the group's operating environment. The UK economy has been performing better than initially expected, however the possibility of a hard Brexit continues to create uncertainty and could impact overall levels of economic growth," Investec said.

"The South African economy has been weak as politics continue to dominate developments. The commodity price recovery, improved weather conditions and growth in tourism is expected to have a positive impact on South Africa's gross domestic product going forward."

At 1123 GMT, the shares were up 0.6% to 9,726.00p.