UBA’s Q3’21 numbers show brightness with 37% profit growth on N490bn gross earnings 

Third quarter performance at United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has come in with very bright colours, bank’s audited financial results for the period ended September 30, 2021, filed with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), have shown. It includes a 37 percent rise in profit with gross earnings rising to N490.3 billion, up from the N454.4 billion posted in Q3 2020.

The pan-African financial services group also reported a 13 percent year-on-year growth in its operating income which stood at N331.7 billion as at September 2021, up from N293.7 billion posted in the comparable period of 2020.

The bank’s unaudited financial report also showed that its profit before tax rose to N123.4 billion compared to N90.4 billion recorded at the end of the third quarter of 2020. And in a similar trend, its profit after tax rose significantly by 36 percent to N104.6 billion up from N77.1 billion recorded a year earlier, while its annualised return on average equity for Q3 2021 stood at 19.2 percent compared to 16.4 per cent recorded in the similar period of 2020.

The bank posted a positive balance sheet as total assets stood at N8.3 trillion, an eight percent rise over the N7.7 trillion recorded at the end of December 2020.

Also, customer deposits rose to N6.1trillion, a 7.2 percent increase from N5.7 trillion at the end of the last financial year, reflecting an improved customer experience over the past years spurred by its technology-led initiatives.

The shareholders’ funds stood at N798.3 billion, up by 10.3 percent from N724.1 billion recorded in December 2020 to mark a strong capacity for internal capital generation and growth.

Kennedy Uzoka, group managing director and chief executive, remarked that the bank has shown resilience in delivering on its commitment to shareholders, stakeholders, and the investing public, evident in the strong positive financial metrics recorded in the reporting period.

Uzoka further explained that the gross earning, which was up eight percent to N490.3 billion in the nine-month period, mirrored the improvements seen in both the domestic and international economies as countries rolled out vaccines, helping to return economic activities nearer to pre-pandemic levels. He added that the bank’s annualised Return on Average Equity (RoAE) of 19.2 percent showed its renewed commitment to creating more value for shareholders.

The UBA chief executive also emphasised that the bank’s prudent approach to risk management and the efficacy of its digital-first customer-centric business strategy, helped in keeping loan growth steady at double-digit, while still being able to moderate cost in the period under review.

“Through the help of our digital-first strategy, we were able to increase the number of our agent network in the period by over 140 percent, increasing our controlling stake in the market,” he noted.

Commenting on the expectations for the rest of the year, Uzoka expressed optimism that the bank’s huge investments in digital business following lessons learnt from the pandemic, will continue to pay off in delivering significant growth opportunities across its business operations even as the economy speedily heals from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We will continue to remain a bank holding company, leveraging on our robust balance sheet and diverse customer-base to deliver sound rewards to our shareholders,” he added.