BEVERLY HILLS, March 15, (THEWILL) – Despite Covid-19-induced operating challenges, United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) recorded a post-tax profit of N113.76 billion for its FY 2020, representing 27.7 per cent from N89.08 billion in 2019. The bank’s profit before tax was up by 18.5 percent from N113.3 billion in the preceding year to N131.9 billion in the year under review.
The bank also recorded gross earnings of N620.4 billion in 2020 which exceeded the N559.8 billion posted in the same period of 2019 by over one-tenth tenth as earnings derived strength from a surge in net interest income by 16.9 percent from N221.9 billion to N259.5 billion.
Net fee and commission income rose to N82.60 billion from N80 billion in the corresponding period representing 3.25 percent increase as net trading and foreign exchange income grew from N37.6 billion to N59.5 billion which boosted revenue.
Earnings per share increased from N2.52 in 2019 to N3.2 in 2020 representing 26.98 percent jump Year-on-Year (Y-o-Y), as impairment charges for credit losses on loans recorded a 37.38 per cent jump, Y-o-Y, from N16.34 billion in the preceding period to N22.44 billion in the reporting year.
This reflects the bank’s inclinations to extant prudential guidelines as it keeps keen watch on the status of non-performing loans (NPLs).
NPL specifically recorded 11.32 decline Y-o-Y from 5.30 percent to 4.7 percent in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
Further glimpse into the bank’s published report showed total assets recorded 36.95 per cent increase from N5.62 trillion to N7,69 trillion in 2019 and 2020 respectively, as total equity also grew Y-o-Y by 21.10 percent from N597.98 billion in 2019 to N724.15 billion in 2020.
Apparently reflecting the Covid-19 challenges, total borrowing declined Y-o-Y by -8.4 percent from N758.68 billion in 2019 to N694.36 billion in 2020, as deposit contributed 79 percent of the total funding mix in 2020. The report showed income from e-banking contributed 34.9 percent to total income from fees and commissions during the reporting year.
The Board has proposed a total dividend of N17.8 billion comprising interim dividend of N0.17 per share paid earlier in the year and final dividend proposal of N0.35, bringing the total to N0.52 per share.
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