Despite recession, UBA profit rises to N52billion

Despite Nigeria’s challenging macro-economic environment, unaudited third-quarter financial results of the United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) show an eight percent increase in profit after tax to N52 billion.

The bank, which recorded N48.6 billion profit after tax at the same time in 2015, also recorded a year-on-year growth in profit before tax to N62 billion despite, representing 18.2 percent annualised return on average equity.

According to Kennedy Uzoka, UBA’s chief executive officer, the bank recorded an appreciable growth in both funding and fee income lines.

“I am pleased with our performance in the first nine months of the year. Notwithstanding the negative economic growth in Nigeria, we maintained growth in earnings and sustained our asset quality. Increasingly, we are leveraging our unique pan-African platform to drive new customer acquisition and grow market share across our African subsidiaries,” Uzoka said.

Furthermore, the bank’s level of impairment in its overall loan book was moderate. The Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio of 2.5% and 0.9% cost of risk remain one of the best in the industry.

Though partly driven by the depreciation in the value of the naira, UBA also recorded a significant 21 percent year-to-date growth in deposits and a similar 26% growth in total assets.

The bank also saw its cost-to-income ratio remain flat year-on-year at 65% despite external cost pressures that masked the positive results of its cost efficiency initiatives.

Also speaking on the results, Ugo Nwaghodoh, CFO of UBA, said: “The growth in deposits and total assets reflects the bank’s increased share of customers’ wallet and deepening banking penetration across all its chosen markets in Nigeria and Africa, which again accounted for a third of the Group’s earnings.”

The Group GCFO assured customers that the bank would continue to balance its appetite for growth and profitability with the strategy of sustaining strong liquidity and capital ratios. The bank maintained 43% liquidity ratio and 17.6% BASEL II capital adequacy ratio, well ahead of regulatory requirement.

UBA is present in 19 African countries, as well as the United Kingdom, the United States of America and France. From a single-country operation founded in Nigeria in 1949, it now has 632 business offices, 1,798 ATMs, and about 13,500 PoS.