Michiel le Roux’s Capitec Bank posts record $742.5 million profit

Key Points

• Capitec’s profit after tax rose 30.1% to $742.5 million, buoyed by solid interest income, digital banking scale-up, and value-added services like Capitec Connect.
• Net interest income grew 17.1% to $1.63 billion, backed by a strong lending book and investment income, while credit impairments declined 5.4% to $444.16 million.
• Non-interest income surged 22% to $1.29 billion, led by transaction fees, digital banking adoption, and telecom revenue from Capitec Connect’s growing customer base.

Capitec Bank, a leading retail bank founded by South African billionaire banker Michiel le Roux,  reported a strong after-tax profit of $742.5 million for the fiscal year ending February 2025, fueled by solid growth across all business segments. The performance underlines the leading retail bank’s ability to deliver in a challenging global economic environment.

According to the retail bank’s latest annual report, profit after tax rose by 30.11 percent—from R10.57 billion ($570.6 million) in 2024 to R13.75 billion ($742.5 million) in 2025. The jump highlights how Capitec has continued to grow its business while keeping costs in check.

Strong income growth across board

Much of the earnings boost came from increases in both interest and non-interest income. Net interest income rose 17.14 percent to R30.23 billion ($1.63 billion), driven by a 16.78-percent increase in lending-related interest. Investment income also saw a lift, climbing 17.97 percent to R8.99 billion ($483.9 million).

On the non-interest side, income jumped 21.98 percent to R23.88 billion ($1.29 billion), helped by a 25.35-percent surge in transaction and commission income, which reached R18.54 billion ($998 million). Capitec Connect, the bank’s mobile offering, also made a notable impact—more than doubling its contribution from the previous year.

Capitec cuts impairments, grows clients

Credit impairments dropped 5.35 percent, falling from R8.73 billion ($470 million) to R8.26 billion ($444 million), which helped lift net interest income after impairments by more than 54 percent to R11.93 billion ($642.6 million).

Capitec added over 1.3 million new clients during the year, pushing its total active customer base to 22.2 million. That, combined with the successful integration of digital lending platform AvaFin Holding, helped push total income up by 21 percent to R29.4 billion ($1.7 billion).

Solid balance sheet and higher dividends

Founded in 2001 by Michiel le Roux along with Jannie Mouton and Riaan Stassen, Capitec has grown into a dominant player in South Africa’s banking sector, offering a wide range of products—from savings and transactional services to loans and credit cards.

Capitec’s balance sheet continued to show strength, with total assets rising by 14.88 percent to R238.46 billion ($12.84 billion) as of Feb. 28, 2025, up from R207.58 billion ($11.17 billion) a year earlier.  The bank’s total equity grew by 16.96 percent from R43.53 billion ($2.34 billion) to R50.91 billion ($2.74 billion), further bolstering its financial position. 

In light of its solid performance, Capitec’s board has approved a final dividend of R44.25 ($2.38) per share, representing a 32.29-percent increase from the prior year. This translates to a dividend payout of R5.13 billion ($276.03 million) for the fiscal year ending Feb. 28, 2025.