Nedbank 2025 Results: Avo Auto Sales Top R1bn, HEPS Up 3%

Nedbank has released its unaudited interim results for the year to December 2025, revealing robust growth driven by its digital ecosystem. With over 700,000 Nedbank Greenbacks members registered on the Avo platform, Greenbacks gross merchant value (GMV) grew by 35%. This surge was supported by key platform enhancements in 2025, including trade-ins, Instant EFT, and an upgraded Travel experience.

Since launching the Avo SuperShop in 2020, more than 24,000 businesses have registered to sell their products and services through the platform. Avo Auto has also excelled, surpassing R1bn in cars sold to date.

On the financial front, Nedbank Group’s diluted headline earnings per share (HEPS) increased by 3% for the year ended 31 December 2025. HEPS is South Africa’s main profit gauge. Headline earnings increased by 2% to R17.2 billion, and return on equity (ROE), at 15.4% (2024: 15.8%), remained above the group’s 2025 cost of equity (COE).

The banking group attributed the increase in headline earnings to an improvement in the impairment charge. This was achieved while revenue growth was slow, and associate income declined in the second half of the year due to the sale of its 21% shareholding in Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI). The group also reported a higher expense base given a once-off settlement with Transnet. Balance sheet metrics remained strong, enabling the declaration of a final dividend of 1,104 cents per share.

Reflecting on the strategic shifts of the past year, Jason Quinn, Nedbank Group CEO, stated: “2025 was a transformative year in which we made bold and swift strategic decisions.”

He detailed the internal restructuring, saying, “We successfully restructured our Retail and Business Banking (RBB) and Nedbank Wealth Clusters into a more focused, client-centred organisational design, and created the Personal and Private Banking (PPB) and Business and Commercial Banking (BCB) Clusters from 1 July 2025. These changes were well received by stakeholders, key leadership positions were filled, and momentum is building as is evident in strong underlying growth metrics.”

Quinn also highlighted key strategic moves to expand the bank’s footprint and capabilities. “We also finalised the acquisition of 100% of fintech company iKhokha to enhance our strategy and fast-track our support for SMEs through digital innovation and inclusive financial services. In December 2025, we disposed of our shareholding in ETI as part of a reset of our strategy on the broader African continent with a clear focus on the SADC and East Africa regions. In this context, in Q1 2026 we announced our intention to acquire a controlling interest in NCBA Group plc, a leading financial services institution in East Africa, for an estimated total consideration of R13.9bn”.

Looking ahead to the current financial year, Quinn provided guidance on what to expect.

 “In 2026 we expect that strong underlying growth momentum across all our businesses will be partially offset by the normalisation of wholesale impairments off a low 2025 base, endowment pressure from lower interest rates and associate income from ETI that will not repeat,” said Quinn. He concluded with a positive outlook on returns, stating, “As a result, ROE for 2026 is likely to be above 15%, heading towards 2025 levels, and above a lower COE of 14.0%. We expect ROE to build in the medium term to around 17%, supported by stronger revenue.”