LEADERSHIP Awards: United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc Is Bank of the Year 2023

Despite the uncertainty caused by the naira redesign that put Nigerian banks at the receiving end, early in the year, the bank excelled and even surpassed expectations, considering the results of the last three quarters.

The bank’s growth was anchored on years of investment in key human and technology developments as well as a clear understanding of the industry.

Interestingly, in its first half-year results ended June 30, 2023, UBA showcased its financial resilience and strength, surpassing expectations with remarkable performance as it reported a profit before tax of N404 billion, representing a rise by 371 per cent, compared to N85.75 billion recorded in the first half of 2022.

Sustaining its remarkable performance achieved in the first two quarters of the current fiscal year, the bank’s gross earnings in its third quarter grew by 115.2 per cent to N1.309 trillion up from N608bn recorded last year, while the operating income rose by 146 per cent from N414 billion in September 2022 to N1.018 trillion in the year under consideration.

The bank’s financial report also indicated an impressive 262 percent rise in profit before tax (PBT) to close at N502.01 billion, compared to N138.49 billion recorded at the end of the third quarter of 2022, while profit after tax also rose impressively by 287.2 per cent from N116 billion recorded a year earlier to N449.29 billion, massively surpassing its annual return on average equity for Q3 2023 at 131 per cent to 44.37 per cent.

The results of the third quarter showed a very strong balance sheet, as the total assets rose to N16.24 trillion, representing a 49.5 per cent increase over the N10.86 trillion recorded at the end of December 2022, while its customer deposits rose to N11.63trillion, representing a 48.6 per cent rise, up from N7.8 trillion at the end of the last financial year. 

Its shareholders’ funds remained very strong at N1.778 trillion, up from N922.1 billion which it recorded in December 2022, an indication of a strong capacity for internal capital generation and growth.

It is, indeed, remarkable that despite the tough business environment weighing most companies down, UBA has continued to push the frontiers of performance.