Discovery Limited saw impressive growth across its sectors for 2026, even as it finalised the R4 billion purchase of its Sandton HQ.
Discovery Limited reported impressive figures for the last financial year, despite significant one-off costs associated with its new head office.
The group was founded in 1992 by Adrian Gore and Barry Swartzberg, initially as a specialist risk insurance company.
The company has grown since then to encompass several insurance portfolios and an online banking division.
In the year ended 30 June 2026, Discovery saw its headline earnings soar by 34% to nearly R13 billion, largely due to the cancellation of its head office lease.
The company opted to cancel the lease on its corporate headquarters at the start of the year, in favour of buying the property outright.
The company’s head office, 1 Discovery Place in Sandton, is one of the largest corporate headquarters on the continent and has its own Woolworths.
While the purchase cost the company approximately R4 billion, it said it would save in the long-term by moving away from its costly lease agreement.
The purchase was entirely funded by bank borrowing, offset by the cancellation of the office’s phase 1 and phase 2 leases.
The termination of the leases resulted in the derecognition of the related lease liabilities of R3 billion and an increase in borrowings from banks, the group noted.
Bank borrowings grew by a net R2 billion in the period.
Normalised headline earnings, which do not take the gains made by cancelling the lease agreement into account, rose by 21% to R11.8 billion.
Discovery’s profits also rose in its last financial year, increasing by 38.3% to R13.2 billion from R9.6 billion in the prior period.
This strong rise in profits was seen across all sectors of the business, with Discovery Insure’s normalised profits growing by 24% year-on-year.
Normalised profits for Discovery Health grew by 9%, with Discovery Invest and Discovery Life also recording increases.
The company’s international operations were another driving force behind the group’s strong results, with VitalityHealth in the UK reporting a 60% increase in profit to approximately R1.9 billion.
Discovery’s impressive growth translated to basic earnings per share rising to 1,937 cents, and diluted earnings per share reaching 1,926 cents.
This represents a 38.1% increase in basic earnings per share, and a 38.04% rise in diluted earnings per share.
Discovery’s banking segment saw a significant rise in both profits and overall earnings, reversing losses in the 2025 financial year.
In 2025, Discovery Bank reported losses of R68 million, but normalised profits grew to R370 million in the latest reporting period.
“The result reflects continued growth in scale, leveraging improved operating efficiency and client experience and engagement, increasingly through the deployment of AI,” the group said.
Net income from banking fees and commissions reached R1.8 billion, increasing by approximately 32% from R1.4 billion the previous year.
Discovery Bank’s total clients rose by 26% to 1.57 million, with approximately 70% of new accounts being opened by clients outside the Discovery Group.
“Continued growth in client engagement and product utilisation drove a 32% increase in non-interest revenue, supporting higher fee income per client,” Discovery said.
Overall, revenue for Discovery’s banking segment rose 31% to R3.1 billion, which the company attributed to economies of scale as the sector continues to grow.
“Operating expenses continued to benefit from economies of scale as the bank grows, driving a significant improvement in profitability and returns, while maintaining disciplined risk outcomes,” the group said.
For the future, Discovery said it is “well positioned for sustained growth,” through its Discovery South Africa and Vitality composites.
“The Group established a five-year ambition for normalised profit from operations to grow between 15% to 20% on a compound basis from the end of 2024 to 2029,” Discovery said.
“After the strong performance in the first two years of this period, the Group now expects to achieve compound growth in the middle to upper end of this ambition over the five-year period.”
Year ended 30 June 2026
Year ended 30 June 2025
Change %
Net Income
(Rm)41,87437,035+13.0%
Operating profit
(Rm)18,61314,587+17.1%
Headline Earnings
(Rm)12,9239,625+34.4%
Headline Earnings Per Share
(cents)1,925.61,447.0+33.1%
Dividend
(cents)384288+33.3%
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