Union Bank’s Gross Earnings Decline by 9% in H1 2019

• Union Bank’s Gross Earnings Decline by 9% in H1 2019

One of Nigeria’s longest standing banks, Union Bank, declared a 9 percent decline in gross earnings from ₦83.3 billion that was achieved in the first half of 2018 to ₦78 billion in H1, 2019.

Also, interest income dipped by 8 percent to ₦57.3 billion, down from ₦62.2 billion in H1, 2018. While net interest income after impairment grew by 3 percent to ₦30.5 billion, up from ₦29.7 billion filed in H1, 2018, the bank stated in its unaudited financial statements for the half year ended June 30, 2019.

Profit before tax rose 4 percent to ₦12.1 billion from ₦11.7 billion recorded in the same period of 2018.

Similarly, customer deposits climbed 4 percent from ₦857.6 billion filed in December 2018 to ₦889.5 billion in the first half of the year.

Operating expenses declined by 4 percent from ₦39.2 billion in H1, 2018 to ₦37.5 billion in the first half of 2019.

Despite 27 percent growth in credit-related fees and 169 percent growth in cash recoveries at ₦5.3 billion, non-interest income declined by 12 percent from ₦21.1 billion in H1, 2018 to ₦18.7 billion.

Commenting on the results, Emeka Emuwa, CEO said: “Notwithstanding the realities of operating in a challenging economic environment, the Group delivered a 4% growth in Profit Before Tax (PBT) to ₦12.1 billion from ₦11.7 billion in H1 2018.

“To sustain growth in earnings, we remained steadfast in our commitment to delivering value and first-class customer experience to all our customers. We have developed a concerted and clear plan to increase our risk assets with our loan book growing by 8% to ₦563.0 billion compared to year-end 2018. The ability to take on more risk is hinged on our robust risk management and debt recovery processes working in sync which led to recoveries of over N5 billion in the period.

“We successfully closed our Series 3, 10 year ₦30 billion bond in June, as part of our ₦100 billion debt capital programme. This series, which was once again fully subscribed, is the largest 10-year bond issued by a Nigerian corporate to date. This further reinforces the confidence of the investor community in Union Bank. With this new injection of tier 2 capital, we are well-positioned to deliver on our growth strategy and priorities.

“Looking ahead, we will continue to focus on opportunities to deliver our simpler, smarter banking promise to our customers while improving internal operational efficiencies which will translate to enhanced shareholder value.”