Unity Bank Predicts N1.80 billion Loss After Tax and N1.66 Billion Pretax Loss for Q4, 2020

Unity Bank Plc said it is expecting to lose N1.80 billion in loss after tax in the fourth quarter of 2020.

While the lender said it is targeting N4.98 billion in gross earnings for the quarter, it is projecting a pretax loss of N1.66 billion, according to a recent earnings forecast released on the Nigerian Stock Exchange’s website.

In its fourth-quarter earnings forecast, the bank said it was also targeting N3.36 billion in interest income.

Unity bank earnings rose by 11 percent to N22.8 billion in the first half of 2020, up from N20.55 billion recorded in the same period of 2019.

In the first half, the bank grew profit before tax by seven percent to N1.12 billion from N1.05 billion in the corresponding period of 2019. While profit after tax also rose by seven percent from N967.51 million in H1 2019 to N1.03 billion in H1 2020.

Similarly, Unity Bank posted earnings of N11.01 billion in the first half, representing a 5 percent increase from the N10.50 billion recorded in the same period of 2019.

The bank asset expanded by 48 percent from N293.05 billion in H1 2019 to N445.95 billion in the same period of 2019. While the lender’s loan book grew by 53.7 percent from N70.62 percent in Q2 2019 to

Also, Unity Bank grew deposit by 19 percent from N257.69 billion recorded as of December 2019 to N306.47 billion.

Speaking on the performance, Mrs. Tomi Somefun, the bank’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, said “Despite the inclement economic conditions occasioned by the global pandemic, which almost paused or at best put activities at a slower pace in virtually all sectors of the economy, the bank has been able to ride the waves to maintain its growth trajectory looking at the key performance indicators.

“The assessment, therefore, is that the repositioning efforts which have taken root before the headwinds are equally able to withstand shocks.”