UBA records N85.7bn profit in six months, assets hit N9trn

Africa’s global bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has recorded double-digit growth across key income lines in its audited financial results for the half year ended June 30, 2022.

UBA GMD/CEO, Oliver Alawuba

The bank also made significant progress in the contribution from its subsidiaries.

The bank delivered a 12.6 per cent appreciation in profit before tax to N85.7 billion, up from N76.2 billion recorded in the same period of 2021.

UBA’s gross earnings hit N372.4 billion, a 17.8 per cent growth when compared with N316 billion that was posted the same period in 2021.

Operating income also grew by 20.1% to N256 billion in the period, while the firm’s profit after tax closed the first half stronger at N70.3 billion, up by 16.1 per cent compared to the N60.6 billion same period in 2021.

A further breakdown of the bank’s half-year result, which was filed with the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), on Thursday, September 8, showed total assets continued on an upward trajectory, increasing 5.4 per cent to about N9 trillion.

UBA delivered on its core mandate of extending loans to credit-worthy customers, with loans and advances increasing by 4 percent to N3 trillion; while deposits rose by 7.9 per cent to N7.6 trillion at the end of the period.

Shareholders’ funds however declined marginally by 2 per cent to N788.5 billion, owing mainly to the decline in its foreign operations translation reserve as well as fair value losses suffered from the investment securities valuation occasioned by the increasing interest rate regime across the globe.

With the strong double-digit growth in PAT vis-à-vis the marginal decline in shareholder’s fund, the Group’s return on equity (RoE) closed the period stronger at 17.7%, whilst return on assets (RoA) came to 1.6%, up by 9 basis points

Reaffirming its commitment to shareholders and the investing public, the Board of Directors of UBA Plc declared an interim dividend of 20 kobo per share for every ordinary share of N0.50 each held by its shareholders.

UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Alawuba, said the stellar performance was in line with management’s expectation.

“The financial year 2022 showed initial signs of recovery of economies across the globe, despite continued COVID-induced supply-chain disruptions. However, geopolitical challenges including the Russia and Ukraine conflict, resulted in escalation of global commodity prices, particularly that of grains and crude oil, which have taken a toll on several economies. Notwithstanding these developments, our half-year numbers came out stronger than the previous year, with top and bottom-line reaching new record highs,” Alawuba said.

According to him, “The Group’s profitability increased by 12.6% to N85.7 billion, with double-digit growth recorded across key income line. The bank also recorded a decent 20% growth in net interest income as it continues to moderate cost of funds whilst improving yield on assets, thereby contributing to the strong 20% growth in operating income.

“Our investments in state-of-the-art technology has continued to yield expected results and this is evident in the huge boost of our digital banking income, which grew 22.7% year-on-year to N36.3 billion. These gains have enabled us optimise net earnings amid the accelerating inflationary pressure, currency devaluation, and increased regulatory-driven costs.”

Alawuba also noted that he is delighted at the strides made by the Bank in growing its market share across Africa.

“Our retail business has continued to grow as we ride on our agency banking network, trusted brand, competitive product offerings and quality service delivery, to deepen our retail penetration,” he added.

He also commented on his recent appointment as Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, alongside five other Group Executive Directors and assured the investing public of his relentless commitment to the growth of the business.

“Together, with our highly motivated workforce, we are poised to usher the business into a new era of growth that will deliver superior value to all stakeholders,” he said.

UBA is a leading pan-African financial institution, offering banking services to more than thirty-seven million customers across 1,000 business offices and customer touch points in 20 African countries.

With presence in New York, London and Paris and now the UAE, UBA is connecting people and businesses across Africa through retail, commercial and corporate banking, innovative cross-border payments and remittances, trade finance and ancillary banking services.