In H1 2022, UBA Delivers N70 Billion Profit – Up By 16%

United Bank for Africa Plc has released its interim consolidated and separate financial statement which shows that the bank raised its profit in the first half of the year by 16 per cent to record N70.33 billion from the N60.58 billion in the first half of last year.

During the period, the bank increased interest income by 15.6 per cent to stand at N257.4 billion against N222.6 billion in the same period of 2021 as investment securities in treasury bills, bonds and others rose.

The interest expenses was valued at N79.9 billion in the first half of 2022 from the N74.6 billion in the first half of 2021 as the banks recorded more deposits from customers during the period while the net interest income stood at N177.46 billion.

Fees and commission income grew to N96.4 billion in H1 2022 from N74.1 billion in H1 2021 on the back of rise in credit-related fees and income, electronic banking income, and trade transaction income amongst others.

Operating income was valued at N9.15 during the study period from N9.5 in 2019. This consists of dividend income at N3.5 billion, other income at N5.19 as well as rental income and gains on disposal of property and equipment. Meanwhile, the other operating income of the Group includes the sum of N3.883 billion remeasurement gain from the initial 49% investment in UBA Zambia.

Other operating expenses such as Fuel, repairs and maintenance was up from N13 billion to N16.7 billion, banking and sector resolution cost was up to record N31 billion from N27 billion amongst others.

Total assets increased from N8.54 trillion in H1 2021 to N9 trillion in H1 2022 while basic and diluted earnings per share was up from N1.69 in H1 2021 to N1.98 in H1 2022.

The Board of Directors declared an interim dividend of 20kobo per share for every ordinary share of N0.50 each held by its shareholders.

UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Alawuba, while commenting on the result, said, “The financial year 2022 showed initial signs of recovery of economies across the globe, despite continued COVID-induced supply-chain disruptions. However, geopolitical challenges including the Russia and Ukraine conflict, resulted in escalation of global commodity prices, particularly grains and crude oil, which have taken a toll on several economies. Notwithstanding these developments, our half-year numbers came out stronger than the prior year, with top and bottom-line reaching new record highs.”

“Our investments in state-of-the-art technology continue to yield expected results, evident in the huge boost of our digital banking income, which grew 22.7% year-on-year to N36.3 billion. These gains have enabled us to optimize net earnings amid the accelerating inflationary pressure, the currency devaluation, and increased regulatory-driven cost.”