Coronation Fund Managers delivered resilient interim earnings for the six months ended 31 March 2026, growing fund management profit even as market swings reduced assets under management.
Fund management earnings per share – Coronation’s preferred measure of core operating performance – increased 2% to 203.7 cents a share, off what the group described as a particularly strong comparative base.
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Headline earnings per share (Heps) declined 5% to 195.1 cents from 205.1 cents in the corresponding period in 2025.
The lower Heps was largely due to items excluded from headline earnings, including the once-off consolidation of the Coronation Foundation Trust, following changes to its board composition that resulted in Coronation obtaining control of the entity for the first time.
The consolidation added R103 million in investment securities and a corresponding R103 million gain in other income, which the company said was excluded from Heps.
Results from operating activities rose 11% to R1.01 billion for the six months ended 31 March 2026, while profit from fund management increased 6% to R1.005 billion.
Profit for the period climbed 6% to R770 million.
Revenue was 3% higher at R2.09 billion. Management fees jumped to R2.03 billion from R1.85 billion, while performance fees dropped sharply to R61 million from R192 million.
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Coronation announced in December 2025 that it will scrap performance fees on five of its flagship funds that currently charge for outperformance, with effect from October this year.
Total operating expenses increased 4% to R1.19 billion as the asset manager continued investing in product development, technology, cybersecurity, client capabilities and talent retention.
Total assets under management (AuM) declined 2% to R746 billion from R761 billion at end-September, largely due to market movements during the period, while average AuM rose 15% to R776 billion, supporting revenue stability.
Coronation share price
‘Extraordinary stock-picking opportunities’
Coronation said flows turned positive during the reporting period, but cautioned against reading this as a structural shift.
“The South African savings industry reflects the broader employment and economic pressures of the economy in which it operates,” the group says, adding that meaningful positive industry flows would require substantially stronger economic growth.
The asset manager said its long-term investment track record remained strong, with 92% of portfolios outperforming benchmarks since inception. However, domestic equity portfolios were hurt in 2025 by the firm’s underweight position in gold shares as soaring bullion prices fuelled a strong rally.
Coronation said recent market moves and the behaviour of the gold price had strengthened its view that holding gold stocks at current levels presents a significant risk of capital loss on a risk-adjusted basis. It added that recent market dislocations were creating “extraordinary stock-picking opportunities”.
Read: Coronation called it: Why the fund manager isn’t buying gold stocks
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Economic outlook
On the economic backdrop, Coronation notes the reporting period was marked by two sharply contrasting phases – strong global markets at the end of 2025, followed by heightened volatility after the escalation of conflict in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in March.
It warns that the resulting oil shock would have far-reaching geopolitical and economic consequences.
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The group also remains concerned about the impact on South African households and the country’s fragile economic recovery, given the effect of sharply higher fuel prices on already-limited household budgets.
However, Coronation points to several encouraging domestic developments, including South Africa’s exit from the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list, a sovereign credit rating upgrade, improvements at key state-owned entities, and reform momentum under the government of national unity.
The company declared an interim gross dividend of 203 cents per share, up from 200 cents per share a year ago.
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