Nigerian pan-African financial services group, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has recorded a 7% increase in gross earnings for the full year ended December 31, 2021.
For the full year 2021, UBA’s earnings rose to N660.2 billion, compared to N616.8 billion recorded at the end of the 2020 financial year.
In a financial result filed by the bank through the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and obtained Investors King, the lender recorded a growth of 11% in total assets to N8.5 trillion, an improvement from N7.7 trillion recorded in the corresponding year of 2020.
Investors King gathered that this is the first time the bank’s assets will cross the N8 trillion mark. The bank’s Profit Before Tax (PBT) also rose by 20.3% to N153.1 billion, up from N127.3 billion posted at the end of the 2020 financial year.
Although the challenging business environment and slow economic recovery in most of the lender’s operating countries drag on activities, the bank still grew Profit After Tax (PAT) by 8.7 percent to N118.7 billion in 2021, compared to N109.2 billion recorded in the 2020 financial year.
Also, net loans grew by 7.7 percent growth to N2.8 trillion, while customer deposits rose by 12.2 percent to N6.4 trillion, compared to N5.7 trillion in the corresponding period of 2020.
The bank’s Group Managing Director and Chief Executive, Kennedy Uzoka, who commented on the result, noted that UBA continues to deliver significant performance, despite the tight and challenging operating environment.
“The year 2021 can best be described as a year of global recovery; economies around the world began to witness early-stage recoveries, as supply chains recover from the devastating disruptions suffered in 2020.
“Consequently, UBA recorded remarkable seven per cent growth in top line to N660 billion (USD1.56bn), and profit before tax (PBT) of N153.1 billion, up 20.3 per cent from the prior year. Net Loans and advances grew by 7.7 per cent to N2.8 trillion with exposure mostly to resilient economic sectors including oil & gas, agriculture and manufacturing. Deposit from customers grew 12.2 per cent, crossing the N6 trillion mark, to N6.4trillion”, he said.
He also revealed that the bank is making sizeable investments in cutting-edge technology and cyber security. According to him, this will ensure the bank continues to achieve respectable top and bottom-line growth through the medium to long term.
“Looking forward, I am particularly excited about our ongoing Enterprise Transformation Program which is designed to enhance the bank’s process agility, service delivery and customer experience”, he added.
