H1’24: UBA boosts earnings 40% to $1.37 trillion, breaks record for interim dividend

Declares an unprecedented interim dividend of N2.00 per share
Total assets increased 37.2% to $28.3 trillion
Customer deposits reached $23.2 trillion, increased by 34%
It has a pre-tax profit of $401.6 billion

African Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has released its audited financial results for the half-year ended June 30, 2024, showing impressive performance on some key financial indicators.

Audited financial data released on Monday by the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) showed that the bank recorded double-digit growth in gross profits and operating income.

At the end of the first two quarters of the year, despite the difficult global macroeconomic climate in Nigeria, as well as challenges related to the geopolitical environment in the major African countries where the bank has subsidiaries, UBA recorded a 39.6% increase in gross earnings, which increased from PLN 981.77 N1.371 trillion in 2023 to N1.371 trillion in June 2024.

Interest income also increased by 134.3% to N1.003 trillion from N428.2 billion recorded in June last year, while total assets increased by 37.2% from N20.6 trillion in December 2023 and closed amounting to N28.3 trillion. Customer deposits also increased by 33.7 percent during the same period, closing at N23.2 trillion compared to N17.3 trillion recorded at the end of 2023.

The composite results 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) declined marginally from N378 billion to N316 billion in the period under review. year. However, bank shareholder funds increased by 47 percent from $2.03 trillion in December 2023 to $2.99 trillion.

In line with the bank’s culture of paying both interim and final cash dividends, the Board of Directors of UBA Plc has declared a record interim dividend of N2.00 per share for every ordinary share of N0.50 each held by shareholders, representing An increase of 300% compared to the amount of N0.50 declared in the corresponding period of 2023. This is the highest interim dividend ever paid by any bank in Nigeria

UBA Group Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Oliver Alawuba, commenting on the results, emphasized the bank’s commitment to consistently delivering value to its shareholders. He said: “UBA Group continues to deliver strong double-digit growth in high-quality, sustainable banking revenue streams, driven by concentrated growth of balance sheet, transaction and digital banking businesses across geographies, in line with our strategic objectives.

Continuing, the GMD stated that: “The Group’s performance is enhanced by continued strong growth across all core and sustainable banking income lines. “Our brokerage business showed strong growth, with net interest income increasing 143% year-over-year to $675 billion.”

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

Executive Director, Finance and Risk, Ugo Nwaghodoh, expressed delight at the milestone achieved by the bank in increasing operational efficiency, reflected in the normalization of the cost-to-income ratio to around 50%.

“Our cost optimization provides room for further moderation as we explore opportunities to dramatically reduce our foreign currency-denominated cost components, robotize and automate processes, and apply artificial intelligence in our operations.” he stated.

He disclosed that the Group will focus on effectively managing increased credit, operational, cyber and information security risks as it continues to conduct its business in line with our moderate risk appetite in line with our Sustainable Development Goals.

“The group has made significant progress and is on track to strengthen its share capital to support its medium and long-term aspirations, while aligning with recent regulatory requirements in Nigeria and other jurisdictions. in which we operate, Nwaghodoh explained further.

United Bank for Africa Plc is a leading Pan-African financial institution offering banking services to over thirty-five million customers across 1,000 business offices and customer touchpoints in 20 African countries. With a presence in New York, London, Paris and Dubai, UBA connects people and businesses across Africa through retail, commercial and corporate banking, innovative cross-border payments and remittances, trade finance and additional banking services.