The United Bank for Africa Plc, the Pan-African financial institution, on
\nthe weekend announced its audited 2018 financial results, which indicates
\nthat the company recorded impressive growths achieved across major
\nfinancial lines in the year under review.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recorded a 48 percent year-on-year growth in retail deposits and
\nimproved our CASA ratio to 77 percent, optimizing our funding mix, which
\nwill enhance our net interest margin (NIM), over the medium term,\u201d the
\nbank\u2019s Group Managing Director\/CEO, Kennedy Uzoka said, while commenting
\non the result, which showed that the bank gained further market share in
\nmany countries of operation.<\/p>\n
\u201cDefying the relatively weak economic growth in Africa, earnings were
\npositive and we grew our balance sheet by 20 percent, driven by the 23
\npercent growth in our deposit funding. In a period of economic
\nuncertainty, we have focused on retail deposit mobilization, with exciting
\nresults,\u201d Uzoka said.<\/p>\n
It will be recalled that the bank started wholesale banking operations in
\nLondon, as it seeks to leverage the Group\u2019s unique network across Africa,
\nwhile also opening its 20th African operation in the same year.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur operations in the United Kingdom now offer end-to-end trade,
\ntreasury, structured finance, wholesale deposit taking and ancillary
\nservices. With this development, we are better positioned to fulfill our
\naspiration of deepening trade and capital flows between Europe and Africa.
\nWe are also pleased with the market acceptance of our new operation in
\nMali,\u201d Uzoka added. The 2018 financials filed at the Nigerian Stock
\nExchange shows that the Africa\u2019s global bank\u2019s gross earnings grew by 7.0
\npercent to N494.0 billion, compared to N461.6 billion recorded in the
\ncorresponding period of 2017.<\/p>\n
The Bank\u2019s total assets also grew significantly by 19.7 percent to an
\nunprecedented N4.9 trillion for the year under review. These results,
\naccording to financial analysts largely demonstrates the benefits of the
\nGroup\u2019s Pan-African footprints with continued growth in market share in
\nkey countries of operation across Africa.<\/p>\n
The contributions of ex-Nigeria subsidiaries at 40 percent, again confirms
\nthe strong footing of the Group\u2019s franchise in Africa. Despite the
\nchallenging business environments in Nigeria and across key markets in
\nAfrica, the Bank\u2019s Profit Before Tax was quite impressive at N106.8
\nbillion, a 2.4 percent growth, compared to N104.2 billion in 2017
\nfinancial year.<\/p>\n
In same vein, the Profit After Tax rose by 1.4 percent to N78.6 billion,
\ncompared to N77.5 billion recorded in 2017. Due to lower foreign exchange
\ntrading income, Operating Expenses grew by 4.1 percent to N197.3 billion,
\ncompared to N189.7 billion in 2017 The bank\u2019s net loans recorded stood at
\na prudent 3.9 percent growth to N1.72 trillion, while customer deposits
\nincreased by as much as 22.5 percent to N3.3 trillion, compared to N2.7
\ntrillion recorded in the corresponding period of 2017; to reflect
\nincreased customer confidence and enhanced service channels in the year
\nunder review.<\/p>\n
The Shareholders\u2019 Funds decreased marginally by 4.8 percent to N502.6
\nbillion, reflecting the impact of International Financial Reporting
\nStandards 9 (IFRS 9) implementation.<\/p>\n
The bank\u2019s CEO said he remained confident that UBA\u2019s performance would be
\nstronger in the years ahead and shareholders would enjoy even greater
\ndividends, as the Group \u201cis well positioned to take advantage of imminent
\nfiscal reforms across many economies in Africa, a positive outlook which
\nshould stimulate new opportunities in infrastructure, manufacturing,
\nagriculture and resource sectors.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am excited by the profitability of our ex-Nigeria subsidiaries, which
\nnow contributes an impressive 40 percent earnings to the Group. At the
\nmoment, our Nigerian business is benefiting from our product and
\noperational focus, gaining market share \u2013 most importantly, the increasing
\npenetration of our retail offerings is reassuring, as this fundamental
\nprogress aligns with our strategy of focusing on sustainable growth\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith great optimism, we look forward to a more rewarding 2019 for our
\nshareholders, as we further sweat our resources and optimize productivity
\ntowards delivering superior returns,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Also speaking on the performance, the Group CFO, Ugo Nwaghodoh said that
\nthe improving mix of the Bank\u2019s funding base and asset pricing, reinforce
\na positive outlook on Net Interest Margin(NIM) and broader balance sheet
\nefficiency.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhilst considerable investment in people, digital transformation and
\nchannel enhancement masked cost efficiency gains within the year, with
\ncost-to-income ratio at 64 percent, we are convinced that our diligent
\nexecution of new initiatives will ensure the reduction of Cost to Income
\nRatio(CIR) towards our medium-term target. Our balance sheet is being
\npositioned to take full advantage of market swings and our strong 25
\npercent capital adequacy ratio provides headroom for growth, even under a
\nBASEL III scenario. As it stands, UBA has started the year on a good note
\nand should sustain the momentum, as we work towards improving our Return
\non Average Equity (RoAE),\u201d Nwaghodoh said.<\/p>\n
United Bank for Africa Plc is a leading pan-African financial services
\ngroup, operating in 20 African countries, as well as the United Kingdom,
\nthe United States of America and with presence in France.<\/p>\n
UBA was incorporated in Nigeria as a limited liability company after
\ntaking over the assets of the British and French Bank Limited who had been
\noperating in Nigeria since 1949.<\/p>\n
The United Bank for Africa merged with Standard Trust Bank in 2005 and
\nfrom a single country operation founded in 1949 in Nigeria \u2013 Africa\u2019s
\nlargest economy \u2013 UBA has become one of the leading providers of banking
\nand other financial services on the African continent.<\/p>\n
The Bank which was awarded the Best Digital Bank in Africa by the
\nEuromoney awards in 2018, provides services to over 17 million customers
\nglobally, through one of the most diverse service channels in sub-Saharan
\nAfrica, with over 1,000 branches and customer touch points and robust
\nonline and mobile banking platforms. The shares of UBA are publicly traded
\non the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the Bank has a well-diversified
\nshareholder base, which includes foreign and local institutional
\ninvestors, as well as individual shareholders.<\/p>\n
The United Bank for Africa Plc, the Pan-African financial institution, on the weekend announced its audited 2018 financial results, which indicates that the company recorded impressive growths achieved across major…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":65579,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n