• SanlamAllianz life new business +12%, value of new business +31% normalized despite FX shocks.

• Reported Pan-Africa earnings fell, but margins at 11.9% stay strong; Allianz stake raised to 49% for $245m.

• JV diversifies away from SA, resilience shown; risks remain from Nigeria, Morocco claims and weak FX.

In the six months to June 30, SanlamAllianz disclosed constant-currency, pro forma growth across all key lines: life insurance new business volumes rose 12% within the 12–15% target range, while value of new business surged 31%, comfortably above the 15–20% goal. General insurance net earned premiums expanded 12% and the net insurance margin held at 11.9%, inside the 10–15% corridor. Normalized net result from financial services advanced 16%.

By contrast, reported numbers were weaker. Life and health earnings dropped 24% to about R423 million ($23 million), and general insurance fell 22% to roughly R445 million ($24 million ), largely due to the Namibia restructuring, Allianz’s April stake increase to 49% for about R4.5 billion ($245 million), and sharp devaluations of the Nigerian naira and Egyptian pound.

Sanlam stressed that underlying momentum remains intact. “The operating environment in frontier markets remains volatile, but medium- to long-term prospects are positive,” the group said, citing demographic growth and penetration rates below 3% in many African markets.

The Pan-Africa unit contributed about 10–15% of group earnings but was instrumental in lifting Sanlam’s overall return on group equity value to 18.2% annualized, above the 14.7% hurdle. Net client cash flows in Pan-Africa were flat in reported terms but steady on a normalized basis, with Kenya and Namibia delivering inflows that offset outflows in Malawi.

SanlamAllianz’s margins compare favorably with peers. Old Mutual Africa’s interim results showed premiums up about 10% with underwriting margins squeezed to ~9%, while AXA Africa posted high-single-digit growth but struggled with Morocco’s claims burden. SanlamAllianz’s 11.9% net insurance margin placed it at the upper end of the sector range. Market diversification across 27 countries also gives the venture a buffer. Strong savings sales in the CIMA zone and favorable claims experience in Egypt and East Africa offset heavy motor and health claims in Morocco and large losses in Nigeria.

Strategic Role

The partnership with Allianz, now nearly equal in shareholding, has sharpened Sanlam’s ability to absorb shocks in fragmented markets. Cost and revenue synergies, from shared platforms to joint underwriting, are already visible in the margin stability. For Sanlam, Pan-Africa also reduces dependence on South Africa, which still accounts for about 70% of earnings. The company sees the JV as a long-term lever for financial inclusion, targeting tens of millions of new customers across the continent.

Execution remains a challenge. Subsidiary results underline the point: Sanlam Kenya’s H1 profit fell 89% to KSh31 million as underwriting losses mounted, though its rights issue cut debt by 72%, shoring up the balance sheet. Currency volatility also remains a structural drag, with the naira weakening 18% and the Egyptian pound 23% against the rand in the period. Even so, Sanlam reaffirmed its Pan-Africa targets for 2025, with management confident of meeting or exceeding medium-term ranges for volumes, margins, and NRFFS growth.

Sanlam’s Pan-Africa bet is starting to pay. By delivering double-digit normalized growth against a backdrop of political instability and sharp FX swings, SanlamAllianz is proving central to the group’s diversification strategy. Investors will need to monitor execution in high-risk markets, but the JV is positioning Sanlam as one of the continent’s most resilient financial groups.

Idriss Linge