Pan-African financial services group, United Bank for Africa Plc, has announced its audited 2015 half year financial results.
UBA |
The results showed strong growth in earnings and
profits, as the Bank continued to benefit from its determination to
provide value to its large customer base in Nigeria, its increasingly
important pan African network, now contributing over 23 percent of
profit after tax and its prudent management of costs and risk.
In a time of increased economic challenge, the
Bank has continued to extend loans to Nigeria and to support domestic
Nigerian businesses.
In line with best
practice in corporate governance, UBA has elected to have its half year
results audited, before its release to the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
UBA’s earnings grew
strongly by 21 percent to N166.9 billion during the period, compared to
N138.2 billion in the same period of June 2014.
The Bank’s profit before tax (PBT) also rose 35.1
percent to N39.0 billion, while profit after tax (PAT) was up a
significant 40 percent to N32 billion within the same period. As a
reward to shareholders, the Bank has announced the payment of an interim
dividend of 20 kobo per share.
Speaking on the
results, Phillips Oduoza, Group Managing Director/CEO said, “In spite of
a challenging operating environment, our business strategy has proved
to be resilient, balancing prudence, with an ability to significantly
grow bottom line and continue to focus on operating effectiveness. We
look forward to continuing to support our customers and working with
them to achieve financial success for them and the wider Nigerian and
African economies”.
Further analysis of the UBA 2015 half year results
showed significant improvement in operational efficiencies. The Bank’s
net operating income rose 21 percent to N108.7 billion in June 2015,
compared to N90 billion in the comparable period of 2014. The Bank has
continued to focus on operational efficiency, with a cost to income
ratio of 64 percent; as against 68 percent in the same period in 2014.
Oduoza explained, “We
delivered strong growth of 21 percent in gross earnings and 40
percent in profit after tax, reflecting better extraction of value
across all business segments and our ongoing process optimization. It
was also satisfying to see our cost-to-income ratio decline further. We
understand that many in Nigeria are facing difficult economic
circumstances and we are very much shouldering our responsibility to
support and grow wealth creation”.
UBA maintained a
healthy loan book, a tribute to both its risk management and to the
robustness of its clients’ businesses, with non-performing ratio at just
1.8 percent of total loans granted, one of the lowest in the banking
industry.
Speaking on the performance of the bank’s African
subsidiaries Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Ugo Nwaghodoh said;
“Our business in Africa (ex-Nigeria) is beginning to significantly
impact our returns, contributing 23 percent of profit after tax, with an
even stronger outlook”.
He also disclosed that
recent initiatives taken by the Bank to improve operational efficiencies
“are yielding positive results, thus reinforcing our optimism on the
future of UBA’s African business”.
The UBA Group is one of
Africa’s leading financial institutions, operating in 19 African
countries, as well as New York, London and Paris. The Group provides a
sophisticated suite of banking services to over 8 million personnel and
corporate clients across Africa, priding itself on bringing financial
inclusion to the Continent and supporting Africa’s next generation of
entrepreneurs
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