Alexander Forbes sees FY headline EPS 160 to 170 pct higher

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's financial services firm Alexander Forbes Group said on Tuesday it expects improved full-year earnings after a capital restructuring and the sale of its insurance company Guardrisk. The financial services firm expects headline earnings per share (EPS) for the year to end-March to be between 160 percent and 170 percent higher, from 83 cents to 88 cents per share, it said in a statement. The group completed its capital restructuring in March 2014, aimed at redeeming all remaining debt and preference shares and replacing them with ordinary shares. A single unsecured term loan was introduced, the company said. Alexander Forbes also said as a result of the capital restructuring and the profits attributable to the Guardrisk disposal, the comparability of the two financial years - 2014 and 2015 - would be affected. Shares in Alexander Forbes were 0.74 percent lower at 9.37 rand by 1211 GMT.