UBA shareholders’ funds remained very strong at N809 billion up from N805 billion recorded in December 2021
By Eugene Onyeji
Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has continued to sustain its strong growth momentum across all major performance indices as announced in its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2022.
Expectedly, given that the bank has achieved commendable performance in the first two quarters of the current fiscal year, the bank’s Gross Earnings rose 23.3 per cent to N608 billion, from N493 billion recorded in September 2021.
In its financial report filed with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), UBA reported a 12.3 per cent rise in Profit Before Tax to close at N138.5 billion compared to N123.4 billion recorded at the end of the third quarter of 2021, while profit after tax also rose significantly by 10.9 per cent to N116 billion up from N104.6 billion recorded a year earlier, thus sustaining its annualised return on average equity for Q3 2022 at 19.2 per cent.
During the period, the bank also grew its interest income by 22.26% to N420.234 billion as against N343.709 billion during the comparable period last year. The increase in interest income was driven by investment securities in treasury bills, bonds and others.
Also, net interest income rose by 23.23% from N229.265 billion to N282.513 billion in 2022.
Meanwhile, interest expenses rose by 20.34% to N137.721 billion, up from N114.444 billion recorded in the third quarter of 2021.
Fees and commission income grew to N138.079 billion in the third quarter of 2022 from N110.982 billion in 2021 on the back of an increase in credit-related fees and income, electronic banking income, and trade transaction income amongst others.
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As always, UBA continues to maintain a very strong balance sheet, with Total Assets rising to N9.3 trillion, representing a 9.1 per cent increase over the N8.5 trillion recorded at the end of December 2021, just as the bank benefitted largely from its technology-led initiatives targeted at improving customer experience over the past few years, with Customer Deposits rising to N7.03 trillion, representing a 10.4 per cent rise, up from N6.4 trillion at the end of the last financial year.
UBA shareholders’ funds remained very strong at N809 billion up from N805 billion recorded in December 2021 again reflecting a strong capacity for internal capital generation and growth.
Commenting on the result, UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Oliver Alawuba, remarked that the Group continues to show notable operating resilience amid significant headwinds in its presence markets amidst heightened global risk environment, adding that its strong diversification model and unwavering focus on customer satisfaction continues to give the bank an edge over its peers in the industry.
He said, “We continue to reap the benefits of our diversification strategy and Customer -1st philosophy and build resilience in our operations across Africa and the Rest of the World to support the mission of providing superior value to our stakeholders.
“This has translated into strong financial gains evident in growth in our customer deposits and Net interest margin. In addition, we are strategically positioned to drive our market share in our operating countries, with the strong growth of our payments and transaction banking offerings,” Alawuba stated.
Executive Director, Finance & Risk Management, Ugo Nwaghodoh, said, “The Group’s profitability increased by 12.3% to N138.5 billion, with underlying growth in our key income lines and moderation in our cost of funds.
We remain very cautious in risk asset creation as we defensively position our asset portfolios to minimize the impact of the heightened credit risk. Consequently, our NPL ratio remains within acceptable threshold at 3.2%.
United Bank for Africa Plc is a leading Pan-African financial institution, offering banking services to more than twenty-five (25) million customers, across 1,000 business offices and customer touch points in 20 African countries. With presence in New York, London, Paris, and Dubai, UBA is connecting people and businesses across Africa through retail, commercial and corporate banking, innovative cross-border payments and remittances, trade finance and ancillary banking services.