United Bank for Africa Plc has recorded significant growth in gross earnings, which increased to US$1.18 billion, representing a 14.2 per cent increase when compared to US$1.04 billion recorded in September 2018.
The bank in its unaudited 2019 third quarter financial results also saw UBA’s profit before tax grew by 24.2 per cent to US$271.2 million, up from US$218.46 million in the same period of 2018.
Similarly, it’s after tax profit, also grew significantly by 32.3 per cent from US$170.4 million recorded in September last year to US$255.45 million in the period under consideration.
This profit performance puts the bank’s annualised return on average equity at 20.6 per cent.
According to the report filed with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday, UBA’s net operating income improved by 11.6 per cent year-on-year to US$734.62 million compared to US$658.31 million achieved in the similar period of 2018.
Despite the double-digit inflation rate in Nigeria (its largest market), coupled with uncertainties in the business environment; and in some countries in the rest of Africa, UBA’s curtailed operating expenses only increased by 8.4 per cent and this was largely due to regulatory costs.
The bank continues to maintain a very strong balance sheet, with total assets of US$13.70 billion, an increase over the US$13.45 billion recorded in December 2018.
Customer deposits also grew to US$9.31billion. The shareholders’ fund remained very strong at US$1.53 billion, rising by 10.5 per cent and reflecting a strong capacity for internal capital generation.
Commenting on the results, the Group Managing Director/CEO, UBA Plc, Kennedy Uzoka, said: “The resilience of our business model and our focused growth of earning assets has yielded a 10.8 per cent growth in interest income.”
He said, “In addition to the commendable yield on interest earning assets, we also achieved a 22.1 per cent growth in non-interest income, driven largely by the increased penetration of our superior digital banking offerings, credit expansion, remittances and other lifestyle transactional services.
“UBA remains committed to its vision of becoming the undisputed leading and dominant financial services institution in Africa. We will continue to innovate and lead in all our business segments, whilst delivering top-notch operational efficiencies and best-in-class customer service,” he said.
“We are beginning to realise early gains from our ongoing Transformation Programme and I am indeed excited about the days ahead,” Mr Uzoka stated.
Also throwing more light on the bank’s financial performance and position, the Group CFO, Ugo Nwaghodoh said, “With the results achieved in the quarter under consideration, the bank remains on track to deliver its earnings target for the year. We were able to grow the loan book by 14.7 per cent (well ahead of our guidance), focusing on growth poles of various economies in which we operate.
“We have also developed new credit products targeted at specific consumer and SME market segments, and will continue to do so with strict adherence to best credit/underwriting standards, as we strive to achieve the statutory loan-to-funding ratio threshold set by the apex bank,” he said.
BY TIMES REPORTER