United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has recorded double-digit improvement across all its major income lines in its first quarter ended March 31st, 2020.
In its financial statements for the first three months of this year, the Pan-African financial institution says its profit before tax rose to N32.7bn in the first quarter of the 2020 financial year.
Interest grew by 10.7% to N109bn from N99bn in the previous quarter.
Profit before tax grew by 8.5% to N33bn.
Profit after tax grew by 5% to N30bn.
Net Assets grew by 2.5% to N613bn from N598bn.
The bank leveraged on modest growth in both interest and non-interest income and recorded 8.5 percent year-on-year growth in Profit Before Tax in the first three months of 2020, to N32.7 billion, compared with N30.2 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2019.
Again, UBA sustained its strong profitability recording an annualized 20 percent Return on Average Equity (RoAE).
The bank’s total assets also rose by 13.4 percent to N6.4tn in the period under review, compared to N5.6tn recorded at the end of 2019 financial; while shareholders’ funds grew to N612.6bn from N597.9bn in the same period.
The total assets increased to N6.4 trillion in Q1 2020 from N5.6 trillion in December 2019, while the total liabilities grew to N5.7 trillion within the same period from N5.0 trillion.
The Bank’s borrowings in Q1 2020 increased to N863.8 billion from N758.7 billion, while deposits from customers rose to N4.3 trillion year-to-date from N3.8 trillion.
The Group Managing Director/CEO of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, expressed satisfaction with the Bank’s performance in the first quarter of 2020, which according to him remains encouraging despite the challenging business environment.
“We are pleased with our top and bottom lines in the first quarter of 2020, delivering N147.2 billion in gross earnings and profit before tax of N32.7billion. The double-digit growth in the topline testifies to the resilience of our business model as a group, even as the 17% growth in our fees and commission income underscores our diversified business model, enabling us to deliver the best value to our stakeholders, even in tough macroeconomic scenarios.
Continuing, the GMD said, “I am very excited about recent successes we have recorded in all our business segments, especially our retail and electronic banking businesses within the period, with retail deposits accounting for 72% of customer deposits even as cost-of-funds moderates to 3.3%. We will continue to grow market share in all our markets, whilst maintaining cost discipline across our businesses, driving efficiency in our processes using best-rated technology.
Speaking on customers’ growing concerns on banking services during the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, Uzoka explained that, “In response to the spread of COVID-19 several national governments have announced a partial or total lockdown in a number of our markets, post-Q1 2020. Fortunately, we have built robust electronic channel platforms to enable us effectively serve our customers from the convenience of their homes. Despite the lockdown, our banking channels have remained open to our customers 24/7, even as we continue to align and adapt our operating model to ensure we service our customers excellently and safely.”
