UBA sets new earnings record in H1’24 with 40% growth to $1.37trn

• Declares interim dividend of N2.00 per share 

Business a.m.

Africa’s global bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc,has reported double-digit growth across key financial metrics in its audited financial results for the first half of the year ended June 30, 2024. 

Notably, the bank’s gross earnings soared by 39.6 percent, rising from N981.77 billion in 2023 to N1.371 trillion in June 2024, according to the audited financials released to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Monday, 

UBA’s financial performance continued to impress, with its interest income posting a 134.3 percent increase from N428.2 billion in June last year to  N1.003 trillion. The bank’s total assets also witnessed a 37.2 percent increase, growing from N20.6 trillion in December 2023 to N28.3 trillion at the close of the first half of 2024. Customer deposits also climbed 33.7 percent in the same period to close at N23.2 trillion up from N17.3 trillion recorded at the end of 2023. 

The results filed showed that profit before tax (PBT) which stood at N403 billion in June 2023, closed the half year at N402 billion, while profit after tax (PAT) dropped slightly from N378 billion to N316 billion in the year under consideration. However, the banks’ shareholders funds increased by 47 per cent from N2.03 trillion in December 2023, to N2.99 trillion.

In keeping with UBA’s longstanding tradition of rewarding its shareholders with both interim and final cash dividends, the bank’s board of directors declared an interim dividend of N2.00 per share for every ordinary share of N0.50 held by shareholders, representing a 300 percent increase compared to the N0.50 dividend declared in the same period of 2023.

Oliver Alawuba, UBA’s group managing director/chief executive officer, while commenting on the results underscored the bank’s commitment to consistently deliver value to its shareholders. 

“UBA Group has continued to deliver strong double-digit growth in high quality and sustainable banking revenue streams, driven by a focused growth in balance sheet, transaction and digital banking businesses across geographies in line with our strategic goals,” he stated

According to Alawuba, the group’s performance has been buoyed by consistent strong growth in all core and sustainable banking income lines. He also noted that UBA’s intermediation business showed strong growth with net interest income expanding by 143 percent year-on-year to N675 billion. 

On the plans for the rest of the year, Alawuba said, “As the Group intensifies its customer acquisition drive, we are making significant investments in technology, data analytics, product research and innovation to enhance our value proposition and customer experience.”

Ugo Nwaghodoh, the executive director, finance & risk, expressed delight at the milestone achieved by the bank in driving operational efficiency, as reflected in cost-to-income ratio normalising around the 50 percent range. 

“Our cost optimisation provides scope for further moderation, as we explore options towards a drastic reduction of our foreign currency denominated cost components, robotizing and automation of processes and application of artificial intelligence to our operations,” he stated.

 Nwaghodoh disclosed that the group will focus on effectively managing the heightened credit, operational, cyber and information security risks, as it continues to conduct its business within the tenets of our moderate risk appetite in alignment with its sustainability goals. 

“The Group has made significant progress and is on course to shore up its share capital to support its medium to long term aspirations, whilst aligning with the recent regulatory requirement in Nigeria and other jurisdictions. that we operate in,” Nwaghodoh added.