United Bank for Africa Plc, Africa’s global bank, released its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024, showing very strong growth across key performance measures.
The results of the group, which were released to the Nigerian Exchange Limited on May 3, showed outstanding improvements.
It saw outstanding year-on-year increases: Gross Earnings rose by 110 percent from N271.1 billion to N570.2 billion; Interest Income grew by 130 percent to N440.7 billion.
Operating Income increased by 115 percent from N175.7 billion in 2023 to N378.59 billion.
Further consolidating the record performance delivered in the Group’s 2023 Full Year Audited Financials, UBA again saw Profit Before Tax rising significantly by 155 percent from N61.7 billion in Q1 2023 to N156.34 billion in Q1 2024, while Profit After Tax jumped from N53.5 billion to N142.5 billion, representing an impressive rise of 165 percent year-on-year.
Commenting on the results, UBA’s Group Managing Director, Oliver Alawuba, said the Group delivered strong first quarter performance, building on the solid momentum of 2023 as well as the ongoing execution of its long-held strategy of customer focus, geographic diversification and effective risk management and governance.
Alawuba said: “Our record Q1 profit before tax was delivered with triple digit gross earnings growth, supported by very strong interest and non-interest income.
“Fees and Commissions rose by 118% year-on-year on the back of improved efficiencies and continued digital adoption.
“This has helped drive improvement in efficiency and customer satisfaction, with the Group’s cost-to-income ratio held at 57.8%.
“The Group’s balance sheet grew steadily with Total Assets increasing by 23% to N25.4 trillion. Customer deposits closed at N18.4 trillion, recording a 23% increase year-on-year, largely attributed to growth in current accounts and savings accounts.”
“Our unwavering commitment to sound governance, robust risk management, and financial strength positions us for continued growth, while we contribute meaningfully to inclusive economic development across our network.”
Also speaking on the performance, UBA’s Executive Director, Finance and Risk, Ugo Nwaghodoh, said the Group’s operating results for the quarter showed the actions taken to enhance the Group’s performance continued to deliver.
Nwaghodoh said: “Our first quarter results highlight our relentless customer focus and the strength of UBA’s geographic and product diversification, with good performance across all our regions.
“We continue to differentiate ourselves across all key financial metrics, with a keen focus on high-quality risk adjusted revenues and cost discipline, while maintaining very sound asset quality.
“We remain committed to reducing both interest expense and operating expenses and expect to make steady progress as we move through the year toward our stated profitability targets.”
United Bank for Africa Plc is a leading Pan-African financial institution offering banking services to more than 25 million customers across over 1,000 business offices and customer touch points in 20 African countries and across four continents.
With presence in the United States of America, United Kingdom, France and United Arab Emirates, UBA connects people and businesses across Africa through retail, commercial and corporate banking, innovative cross-border payments and remittances, trade finance and ancillary banking services.
