The United Bank for Africa Plc, on Monday night presented its unaudited financial report for the nine months ended September 30, 2023, with significant growth in key health and soundness indicators that the board assured are sustainable into the final quarter of the year.
In what the Group Managing Director/CEO, Oliver Alawuba, described as splendid performance that shows “sustainable and remarkable improvement in key performance metrics over the period, reflecting (the group’s) commitment to delivering value to shareholders and various stakeholders,” UBA reported tripple digit growth in gross earnings and net profit, among others.
Gross earnings grew by 115.2% to N1.309tr, up from the N608bn recorded last year, while operating income rose by 146% from N414bn in September 2022; to N1.018tr in the year under consideration.
According to the financials filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited, indicated a 262% rise in Profit before Tax (PBT) to close at N502.01bn compared to N138.49bn recorded at the end of the third quarter of 2022. Profit after tax also rose impressively by 287.2% from N116bn recorded a year earlier to N449.29bn, surpassing its annualised return on average equity for Q3 2023 at 131% to 44.37%.
As in the preceding quarters, UBA continues to maintain a very strong balance sheet, with Total Assets rising to N16.24 trillion, representing a 49.5% increase over the N10.86 trillion recorded at the end of December 2022, just as the bank benefitted largely from its technology-led initiatives targeted at improving customer experience over the past few years, with customer deposits rising to N11.63tr, representing a 48.6% growth from N7.8tr at the end of the last financial year.
Shareholders’ funds remained robust at N1.778tr, up from N922.1bn recorded in December 2022, reflecting a strong capacity for internal capital generation and growth.
Continuing, Alawuba attributed the significant improvement “to the impact of FX harmonization, efficient balance sheet management, and our service-focused strategies. Our banking operations outside of Nigeria have continued to capture the broader business opportunities inherent across, and beyond Sub-Saharan Africa.”
Speaking on plans and strategy to sustain and surpass the performance at the end of the year, the GMD explained that the bank will continue to leverage its customer-centric strategies, speed to market, and innovation to consolidate market share in its various jurisdictions, as he pledged the bank’s commitment towards expanding and deepening digital and other transactional banking offerings while building strategic alliances to take advantage of emerging opportunities in due time.
Looking ahead, he said the group is “optimistic that the growth trajectory will be sustained in the final quarter of the year as we remain focused on consolidating the gains achieved so far in delivering enhanced returns to our shareholders.”
Also speaking on the performance, the bank’s Executive Director, Finance & Risk, Ugo Nwaghodoh, said the Q3 performance “demonstrates the strong momentum of the Bank, as we deliver continuous improvements across our businesses and key performance metrics. This is reflective of the combined impact of higher asset yields, modest funding cost, and balance sheet optimisation.
Speaking on UBA’s strategy for an excellent performance by the end of the 2023 financial year, Nwaghodoh further assured that “notwithstanding changes in the monetary and fiscal regime in some of our markets, we remain committed to driving sustainable and improved performance across our various business segments.”