From BAYO AZEEZ (Lagos) –The United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has announced its audited half year financial results ended June 30, 2017, showing stellar performance across major metrics.
UBA, the Pan African Bank, grew its gross earnings for the period by 34.5 per cent to N222.7 billion, as against N165.6 billion reported in June 2016.
The lender attributed the performance, which reflects the strong momentum of UBA’s business and its increasing share of customers’ wallet, to the 44.3 per cent and 16.0 per cent growth in interest income and non-funded income respectively.
The Group’s operating income stood also rose to N161.8 billion from the initial N116.2 billion recorded in the corresponding period of last year, representing a 39.2 per cent growth.
Notwithstanding the impact of naira devaluation and double digit inflation in Nigeria and a number of other African countries where UBA operates, the Group managed through its cost lines to deliver a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of N57.5 billion, appreciating by 65.5 per cent over N34.8 billion recorded in the same period of 2016.
In same vein, the Group recorded an unprecedented Profit After Tax (PAT) of N42.3 billion, translating to a 56.1 per cent growth over the N27.1 billion recorded in the half-year of 2016.
According to UBA, this profitability further reflects the earnings capacity of the Group and its capability to progressively deliver superior returns to shareholders.
While the Group closed the half year with Total Assets of N3.69 trillion, a growth of 5.3 percent, it grew gross loans to N1.6 trillion, a 4 percent growth when compared to the Group loan book as at 31 December 2016.
Reflecting a strong capacity for internal capital generation, the Group’s Shareholders’ Fund grew by 8 percent to N483.1 billion, whilst it delivered an annualized 18.2 per cent return on average equity (RoAE) and an Interim dividend of N0.20k per Share.
Commenting on the result, Kennedy Uzoka, the Group Managing Director/CEO, said that the results again demonstrated the strong momentum of the Bank, as it delivers continuous improvement across businesses and key performance metrics.
He further stated: “The Bank’s “unwavering focus on customer service excellence is translating to strong operational and financial efficiency gains. We have achieved better pricing on assets and liabilities, leading to continued improvement in the net interest margin to 7.3 per cent.
“Leveraging our service-focused strategy and treasury management, we grew non-interest income by 17 per cent year-on-year, reinforcing our transaction-banking-led approach towards deepening financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa.”
According to him, UBA has made considerable progress in its retail banking penetration, gaining market share in deposits, at a time when a sizeable percentage of households are challenged due to inflationary pressures on disposable income.
The Bank grew its retail savings and current account deposits by 23 per cent and five per cent YTD respectively.
Also speaking on the lender’s financial performance and position, the Group CFO, Ugo Nwaghodoh said that the Bank had “a strong start in the year, despite protracted recession in Nigeria, our largest market. Our profit after tax of N42 billion translates to 18.2 per cent return on average equity, broadly in line with our 2017FY guidance.”
