H1 2017: UBA grows profit by 66%

PAN African financial institution, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has announced its audited half year financial results ended June 30, 2017, showing remarkable performance across major metrics.

UBA grew its gross earnings for the period by 34.5 percent to N222.7 billion, as against N165.6 billion reported in June 2016. This performance, which reflects the strong momentum of UBA’s business and its increasing share of customers’ wallet, was driven by 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 at N161.8 billion, compared to N116.2 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2016, representing a 39.2 percent 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, representing a significant growth of 65.5 percent over N34.8 billion recorded in the corresponding period of June 2016.

Commenting on the result, Kennedy Uzoka, the Group Managing Director/CEO, said that “the results again demonstrate the strong momentum of the bank, as we deliver continuous improvement across our businesses and key performance metrics.”

He further stated that 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 17per cent year-on-year, reinforcing our transaction-banking-led approach towards deepening financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa.”

In same vein, the Group recorded profit after tax (PAT) of N42.3 billion, translating to a 56.2 percent growth over the N27.1 billion recorded in the half-year of 2016. 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 prudently 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 annualised 18.2 per cent return on average equity (RoAE) and an Interim Dividend of N0.20 per Share.