Headline earnings a share (Heps) rose 8.9% to 1 254 cents. An uplift of 29 percentage points per share in the Heps represented the impact of share repurchases. The increase of 8.7% in headline earnings was mainly due to higher contributions from OUTsurance Group's continuing operations, Mediclinic, the Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund, KTH and FirstRand, as well as higher interest income and foreign exchange gains on foreign exchange contracts entered in for an additional 5.4% interest in Mediclinic. This was partly offset by lower contributions from TotalEnergies, RCL Foods and Grindrod, as well as transaction costs relating to the Mediclinic acquisition and the Distell/Heineken transaction.