South Africa's Investec lifts H1 profit, shares rise

JOHANNESBURG, Nov 19 (Reuters) - South African bank and asset manager Investec (LSE: INVP.L - news) reported a 13.3 percent increase in first-half profit on Thursday, boosted by a strong showing at its lending unit.

Investec, which is also listed in London, said adjusted EPS totalled 25.5 pence compared with 22.5 pence a year earlier.

At 0748 GMT, shares in the company were up 3.5 percent to 113.26 rand, outpacing a 0.9 percent gain in the JSE Top-40 index.

Net (LSE: 0LN0.L - news) interest income grew more than 10 percent to 284.1 million pounds thanks to demand from corporate clients in the UK and at home.

Lending to companies is increasingly becoming the mainstay for banks in Africa's most advanced economy but an electricity crisis at home could temper business and investment and curb corporate credit growth. (Reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng; editing by Jason Neely)