UBA to pay N7.2b interim dividend

The board of directors of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc on Thursday declared interim dividend of N7.2 billion as the bank’s half-year earnings report showed considerable improvements in key fundamentals. Shareholders would receive a dividend per share of 20 kobo on September 16. UBA’s share price rose by 4.85 per cent at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
The six-month report for the period ended June 30, 2015 showed that gross earnings increased by 20.78% to N166.94 billion from N138.22 billion recorded in the same period of 2014. Notwithstanding the tight regulatory and monetary environment that banks contended with in the period, UBA recorded Profit After Tax of N39.04 billion, representing 35.13% increase from N28.89 billion posted in the prior period. The Bank`s Net Interest Income grew by 18.91% to N65.65 billion from N55.21 billion, while the Fees and Commission Income grew by 12.07% to N30.35 billion from N27.08 billion in prior period.
The Bank was able to grow its Loans and Advances by 8.49% to N1.162 trillion from N1.071 trillion. The Net Impairment Loss on Loans and Receivables grew by 70.81% to N3.50 billion from N2.04 billion in prior period. The Bank recorded an increase of 2.67% in deposits from Customers to N2.227 trillion from N2.169 trillion owing to the tight operating environment with loan-to-deposit ratio of 52.18%.
Shareholders’ Funds rose by 15.91% to N307.63 billion from N265.40 billion owing to accretion to Reserves. The bank`s Total Assets increased by 6.05% to N2.929 trillion from N2.762trillion in the same period of 2014.
The bank`s Earnings Per Share grew by 32.39% to 91 kobo from 71 kobo, while it declared an interim dividend of 20 kobo. The interim dividend represents a dividend yield of 5.78% at today`s closing price of N3.46k. The closure date for the Interim Dividend is September 10, 2015 to September 11, 2015, (both dates inclusive), while the Payment Date is September 16, 2015.
Commenting on the results, group managing director, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Mr. Phillips Oduoza said the results showed the resilience of the bank’s business strategy in the face of the challenging operating environment.

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“Our business strategy has proved to be resilient, balancing prudence, with an ability to significantly grow bottom line and continue to focus on operating effectiveness. We look forward to continuing to support our customers and working with them to achieve financial success for them and the wider Nigerian and African economies,” Oduoza said.
He said the bank’s bottom-line reflected better extraction of value across all business segments and ongoing process optimization.
According to him, it was also satisfying to see the bank’s cost-to-income ratio decline further while the bank has maintained a healthy loan book, a tribute to both its risk management and to the robustness of its clients’ businesses, with non-performing ratio at just 1.8 per cent of total loans granted, one of the lowest in the banking industry.
“We understand that many in Nigeria are facing difficult economic circumstances and we are very much shouldering our responsibility to support and grow wealth creation,” Oduoza said.
Speaking on the performance of the bank’s African subsidiaries, group chief financial officer, UBA, Ugo Nwaghodoh said the bank’s businesses in other African countries have started to significantly impact the group’s returns, contributing 23 per cent of profit after tax, with an even stronger outlook.
He said recent initiatives taken by the bank to improve operational efficiencies have been yielding positive results, thus reinforcing optimism on the future of UBA’s African business.

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