…As Bank proposes N3 final dividend
…Full year profit rises to N766.568bn
Tony Elumelu, chairman of United Bank for Africa Plc, will make about N7 billion when the bank pays its final dividend of N3 per share on Friday, April 25, 2025.
UBA has released its consolidated and separate financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024 which shows the group profit before tax (PBT) increased to N803.726 billion from N757.680 billion in 2023, representing an increase by 6.07 percent.
Also, the bank’s full year profit after tax (PAT) increased to N766.568 billion from N607.696 billion, representing an increase by 26.14 percent. The Earnings Per Share (EPS) rose to N21.73 from N17.49 in 2023.
The shares outstanding of UBA Plc are 34,199,421,368 units, each valued at 36.8 as at Friday March 21. The shares of the bank were on demand on the NGX as at 11 am on Monday March 24, trading at N39.95.
Elumelu directly holds 195,126,906 units of UBA shares while the billionaire indirectly holds 2,347,387,243 units of the bank’s shares.
Details of Elumelu’s indirect holdings in UBA are: HH Capital Limited (302,296,875 shares), Heirs Holdings Limited (1,814,003,900), and Heirs Alliance Limited (231,086,468).
For the period ended December 31, 2024, UBA has proposed a final dividend of N3 (December 2023: N2.30 per share) for every ordinary share of 50 kobo each (bringing the total dividend for the financial year ended December 31, 2024 to N5).
This proposed final dividend and the N2 per share interim dividend paid in October 2024, brings the total dividend for the year to N5, amounting to a pay-out ratio of 26.6 percent (December 31, 2023: 16.32 percent), and a yield of 13.1 percent (31 December 2023: 10.92 percent).
The proposed dividend will be presented to shareholders for approval at the next Annual General Meeting and paid subsequently subject to withholding tax at an appropriate rate.
The proposed dividend subject to applicable withholding tax, will be paid to shareholders whose names appear in the Register of Members as at the close of business on Friday, April 11, 2025. The bank’s register of members will be closed on Monday, April 14, 2025. Qualification date is Friday, April 11, 2025, while payment date is on Friday, April 25, 2025.
The final dividend will be paid electronically to shareholders whose names appear on the Register of Members as at close of business on Friday, April 11, 2025 and who have completed the e-dividend registration and mandated the Registrar to pay their dividends directly into their bank accounts.
UBA experienced robust trading activity in 2024, with 8.45 billion shares exchanged, representing 24.71 percent of the shares outstanding. The NGX All-Share Index closed at a record high of 102,926.40 points, representing a substantial 37.65 percent gain from its opening position of 74,773.77 points.
Market capitalisation likewise witnessed a notable surge, closing at N62.763 trillion, signifying a 53.39 percent expansion from N40.918 trillion at the end of 2023. UBA concluded 2024 at N34 per share translating to a 32.55 percent increase in 2024.
The gross balance of loans and advances to customers as at December 31, 2024 was N4.06 trillion for the Bank and N7.28 trillion for the Group. The associated allowance for credit loss was N135.91 billion for the Bank and N320.8 billion for the Group. (BusinessDay)
