UBA nets N166.9 bn mid year, declares dividends

September 6, 2015 – United Bank of Africa has declared a mid year gross earnings of N166.9 billion against N138.2 billion which the bank recorded at the same time last year.

“UBA’s earnings grew strongly by 21% to N166.9 billion during the period, compared to N138.2 billion in the same period of June 2014”, the bank said in a statement.

The results showed strong growth in earnings and profits.

The Bank’s profit before tax (PBT) also rose 35.1% to N39.0 billion, while profit after tax (PAT) stood at a significant 40% to N32 billion within the same period.

As a reward to shareholders, the bank announced the payment of an interim dividend of 20 kobo per share.

Speaking on the results, Group Managing Director, UBA, Mr. Phillips Oduoza, said that in spite of a challenging operating environment, business strategy has proved to be resilient, balancing prudence, with an ability to significantly grow bottom line and continue to focus on operating effectiveness.

“We look forward to continuing to support our customers and working with them to achieve financial success for them and the wider Nigerian and African economies”, he said.

Analysis of UBA 2015 half year results showed significant improvement in operational efficiencies.

The bank’s net operating income rose 21% to N108.7 billion in June 2015, compared to N90 billion in the comparable period of 2014. The Bank has continued to focus on operational efficiency, with a cost to income ratio of 64%; as against 68% in the same period in 2014.

“We delivered strong growth of 21% in gross earnings and 40% in profit after tax, reflecting better extraction of value across all business segments and our ongoing process optimization. It was also satisfying to see our cost-to-income ratio decline further. We understand that many in Nigeria are facing difficult economic circumstances and we are very much shouldering our responsibility to support and grow wealth creation”, he said.

According to him, UBA maintained a healthy loan book, a tribute to both its risk management and to the robustness of its clients’ businesses, with non-performing ratio at just 1.8% of total loans granted, one of the lowest in the banking industry.

Speaking on the performance of the bank’s African subsidiaries Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Ugo Nwaghodoh said, “Our business in Africa (ex-Nigeria) is beginning to significantly impact our returns, contributing 23% of profit after tax, with an even stronger outlook”.

He also disclosed that recent initiatives taken by the Bank to improve operational efficiencies “are yielding positive results, thus reinforcing our optimism on the future of UBA’s African business”.