UBA earnings per share for the period recorded a 9.62 percent increase to N1.14, from the N1.04 achieved in the same period of 2021
By Eugene Onyeji
United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has announced its unaudited results for the first quarter ended March 31st, 2022, posting new high gross earnings of N183.9bn.
The bank’s results, released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Wednesday, showed that gross earnings rose by 18.26 per cent when compared with N155.4bn reported the same period in 2021.
The bank also grew its profit before tax (PBT) to N44.5bn, which shows a 9.62 per cent higher than N40.6bn recorded during the same period in 2021. Its profit after tax stood at N41.5 billion during the period.
UBA no doubt, achieved striking growth across income lines, as all essential indicators turned green, leveraging on the growth in both interest and non-interest income.
The report revealed that Net interest income grew by 14.10 per cent from N74.38bn to N84.87bn in the current period.
UBA earnings per share for the period recorded a 9.62 percent increase to N1.14, from the N1.04 achieved in the corresponding period of 2021.
UBA total assets also rose by 4.1 per cent to N8.9 trillion in the period under review, compared to N8.5 trillion recorded at the end of the 2021 financial year; while shareholders’ funds grew by 2.6 per cent to N825.7 billion from N804.8 billion in the same period.
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Commenting on the performance, the bank’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Kennedy Uzoka, said the bank’s business model continued to show resilience despite economic challenges on the global front that shaped the first quarter of this year.
These challenges among others, he noted include the ongoing crisis between Russia and Ukraine that has resulted in a huge supply shock, pushing up commodity prices; and the hike in the interest rates in most advanced countries aimed at tackling spiraling inflation, sparking capital flow reversal from emerging and frontier markets.
“Notwithstanding these developments, we were able to leverage gains from our large customer base and vast geographical spread to bolster earnings. We recorded double-digit growth of 18.26 per cent in our gross earnings to N183.9bn, with our Nigerian operation raking in 65 per cent of the revenue while our operations in other countries accounted for the remainder, showing the diversity in our operations,” Uzoka said.
He said amid the “Great Resignation” wave that has seen a record number of employees across the globe quit their jobs, disrupting the performance of many businesses, UBA, in the last quarter of last year, reviewed upwards, the salaries of its staff as part of broad measures to retain talents, adding, “We believe our staff is part of our success story with their welfare as a top priority.”
Uzoka added: “With strategies in place to further increase revenue and drive cost lower, we are determined to achieve our cost-to-Income ratio target of below 60 per cent by year-end; and for 2022, we are committed to consolidating on the strong start, surpassing our goals and targets, as we look forward to delivering stronger returns to our esteemed shareholders.”