UBA delights shareholders with N27.2bn dividend payout

The shareholders of the pan-African financial institution, the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc have applauded the board, management and staff at the 55th Annual General Meeting of the Bank, held in Lagos on Friday.

UBA shareholders approved the payment of N19.9 billion as final dividend for the financial year ended December 31, 2016, in addition to N7.3 billion interim dividend paid after the audit of its 2016 Half Year Results.

The shareholders, who unanimously approved the N0.55/share final dividend on every ordinary share of N0.50 each were particularly impressed by the new Group Managing Director/CEO, Mr Kennedy Uzoka, who delivered the results to shareholders at his inaugural annual general meeting.

Speaking on behalf of the shareholders, President of the Association for the Advancement of the Rights of Nigerian Shareholders, Alhaji Farouk Umar, said, “It is obvious from the faces of shareholders that all of us are happy with the performance of the bank.

“We did not expect anything less because we know that that our chairman is an achiever not only locally but also internationally. We have seen the African expansion and its contribution to our earnings and I believe this is also commendable.”

UBA had earlier paid an interim dividend of N0.20/share to shareholders, bringing the total dividend for the 2016 financial year to N0.75 kobo, an impressive 25 per cent growth over the total dividend of N0.60/share paid for the 2015 financial year. Furthermore, the total dividend of N0.75/share translates to an unparalleled  yield of 14.3 per cent when put in the perspective of UBA’s share price of N5.26 on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, as at the close of market on Friday, April 7, 2017.

The shareholders were excited at the  performance of the Group, an impressive 22 per cent year-on-year growth in gross earnings and an outstanding 32 per cent year-on-year growth in profit to N91 billion, in what analysts described as an attestation to UBA’s resilience and enhanced productivity.

Notwithstanding the challenging operating environment, the group recorded an impressive 22 per cent  growth in gross earnings to N384 billion in 2016, from N315 billion in the 2015 financial year, illustrating the bank’s resilience and tenacity to generate earnings even in periods of economic slowdown.

The group further achieved a significant 32 per cent growth in profit before tax to N91 billion, compared to N68 billion profit recorded over the same period of 2015.  UBA’s profit after tax grew by 22 per cent to N72 billion, from N60 billion recorded the previous year.

The Group Chairman, UBA Plc, Mr Tony Elumelu, gave credit to the chairpersons of UBA subsidiary boards across Africa saying ‘these hard working men and women, who chair the Boards across our businesses in Africa, have helped contribute a third of the overall profit of the Group. I believe they deserve commendation. They are strengthening UBA brand across Africa, in line with our aspiration.”

He was particularly pleased with the bank’s new CEO, Kennedy Uzoka. “At the Board level, we are extremely pleased by the financial performance that Kennedy and his team delivered in 2016. Kennedy and his team prioritise the customer and they are diligently executing the Customer First project, which the board believes will sustainably enhance the performance of the group,” said Elumelu.

“Our results show the tenacity and enterprise of our Management team and Staff. More importantly is our ability to proactively meet customers’ need. I am pleased that UBA maintains some of the best prudential ratios in the industry, as our capital adequacy ratio of 20 per cent and 39 per cent liquidity ratio are well above the 15 per cent and 30 per cent regulatory requirement respectively. We will be prudent in lending to critical growth sectors of the African economies, as we remain upbeat on the huge banking opportunities in Africa,” he added.

He also used the occasion to commend the Federal Government of Nigeria and Central Bank of Nigeria on their concerted policy actions aimed at reflating the Nigerian economy. ‘I will like to encourage them to continue along this path, which I believe will stimulate the country’s economy in the shortest possible time’.

The Group CEO, Kennedy Uzoka assured the shareholders of a better 2017. “As we further our Customer First Philosophy, we are approaching 2017 with stronger optimism, especially as the outlook remains positive in most of our markets. We are not unaware of the macro economic challenges, competition and constantly changing customer preferences. Rather, we believe we are well equipped to win in the market. We will further sweat our unique Pan- African platform to improve productivity, extract efficiency gains and grow our share of customers’ wallet across all business lines and markets. We will continue to build on our strong governance culture, zero-tolerance for infractions and transparency in furthering our frontiers of leadership in the African market.