UBA Records N183.9b Gross Earnings In Q1

United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has recorded N183.9 billion in its unaudited results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022.

The bank, which achieved impressive growth across other income lines, grew its profit before tax (PBT) to N44.5 billion.

The  PBT was higher than N40.6 billion recorded during the same period in 2021. Its profit after tax stood at N41.5 billion during the period.

The bank’s results, released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, showed that gross earnings also rose by 18.3 per cent from N155.4 billion.

Its operating income grew by 18 per cent to N125.9 billion, higher than N106.6 billion as at March, last year.

The bank’s total assets rose by 4.1 to N8.9 trillion, compared to N8.5 trillion recorded at the same period of last year, while shareholders’ funds stood at N825.7 billion, an improvement from N804.8 billion in the same period of 2021.

UBA sustained its strong profitability recording an annualised 20.4 per cent Return on Average Equity (RoAE).

UBA’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 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 percent in our gross earnings to N183.9 billion, 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, t 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.”

UBA’s Group Chief Finance Officer (GCFO), Ugo Nwaghodoh, explained: “Our first quarter 2022 financial numbers showed we are off with a good start.  I am pleased with how we deployed our balance sheet in the period to grow revenue and increase our market share in a number of West African markets.”

“Driven majorly by interest from customer loans and our investments in long-dated instruments, we grew interest income by an unprecedented quarterly rate of 15 per cent to N125.1 billion.”

“We drove down our annualised cost of funds by 11 basis points to 2.1 per cent. This was achieved despite the uptick in the interest rate environment in the period,” the GCFO said.

He expressed confidence that the bank will surpass its target for the year, adding: “We remain well-capitalised and liquid to fulfill our growth strategy, take up opportunities in key sectors, whilst navigating impending macroeconomic headwinds.”