Discovery pays interim dividend as its bank booms

Discovery, SA's biggest medical scheme administrator, has opted to pay an interim dividend despite a slight dip in headline earnings.

On the upside, Vitality Global outperformed the rest of the group's divisions, while Discovery Bank continued to deliver impressive client growth as it marches towards its target of one million clients by 2026.

Headline earnings were 0.5% lower at R3.26 billion for the six months to end-December, though new business annual premium income (API) increased 28% to R14.2 billion.