UBA Posts 26% Rise In Third Quarter Profit

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Fitch
For the third quarter ended September 30, 2017, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc posted 26 percent rise in gross earnings from N265.5 billion to N333.9 billion.
Similarly, the bank’ s Profit after Tax, PAT, grew to N60.9 billion representing an impressive 23 percent growth over the N49.5 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2016.
The Group’s operating income stood at N236.9 billion, compared to N183.3 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2016, representing 29.3 percent growth with Profit Before Tax, PBT, of N78.3 billion, higher than N58.8 billion recorded in the similar period of 2016.
The bank attributed the improved performance to its recurring core revenue lines, thus reflecting the increasing success of the bank’s enhanced customer engagement. “This profitability further reflects the strong earnings capacity of the Group and its capability to progressively deliver superior returns to shareholders.”
Total assets stood N3.77 trillion, a growth of 7.6 percent with shareholders’ fund of N507.6 billion representing 13.3 percent rise when compared to the figure achieved during the corresponding period in 2016.The Group Managing Director/CEO, Kennedy Uzoka, said, “These extremely positive third-quarter results are an attestation of our ability to sustainably grow earnings and market share, notwithstanding the challenging operating environment. They are a tribute to our enhanced customer engagement and focus on continuous improvement in service quality.”
He further noted that the bank’s nine-month top-line grew by 26.3m percent, to an unprecedented N334 billion, driven particularly by the strong performance of its recurring core revenue lines.
Uzoka stated, “Our investment in digital channels is being rewarded, as our market share of digital banking continues to grow and we have also seen strong momentum in the trade and remittance businesses, where we have doubled the monthly run-rate in fee income, a testament to an increasingly optimistic business and currency environment.”
According to him, the slow, but steady, recovery in economic activities in Nigeria is presenting new opportunities for growth, particularly as improving foreign currency liquidity and the multiplier effect of rising public sector spending are stimulating economic activities.
“We continue to benefit from the strategic diversification of our business, with non-Nigerian business now contributing more than a third of revenues this quarter. These positive developments reinforce our constructive outlook on earnings and balance sheet growth for the last quarter of the year. To this end, we will progressively deliver superior return to our shareholders, as we extract new growth opportunities in our unique Pan-African franchise,” Uzoka added.
Also speaking on UBA’s financial performance and position, the Group CFO, Ugo Nwaghodoh explained that the Africa operations (ex-Nigeria) contributed top-line growth of approximately 40 per cent to earnings.
 
“As we consistently gain market share in digital banking, remittance and trade flows, we are sustainably growing the non-funded income line, which currently represents 28 per cent of our earnings.”
He added that whilst high domestic inflation, especially in Nigeria and Ghana raised external cost pressures, alongside the lag impact of Naira devaluation, the bank remains focused on its cost efficiency initiatives.

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