28th March, 2014
The United Bank for Africa (UBA) has proposed a dividend of 50k to shareholders following the release of its audited account for 2013.
The bank similarly paid 50k to shareholders in 2012.
Athough the bank reported a 20.3 per cent growth in gross earnings, from N220 billion in 2012 to N264.7 billion for the financial year ended Dec. 31, 2013, profit after tax plunged from N54.7billion to N46.6 billion.
But the profit was jacked up by a net income of N7billion from what the bank called ‘Fair value gains on available-for-sale investments’.
This adjustment shot the company’s comprehensive income to N53.7 billion. In 2012, the company’s PAT was N55.5 billion.
The bank said the growth in earnings was largely driven by growth of 40.4 per cent in loans and advances and the 25 per cent growth in its total deposits.
In the same vein, the bank’s loan-to-deposit ratio rose from 38.7 per cent to 44.3 per cent.
The bank’s profit before tax also rose by 7.8 per cent to N56.1 billion from the N52 billion posted in 2012.
The bank attributed the growth to prudent cost management policies, enhanced efficiency and the impact of other productive initiatives.
Commenting on the result, Mr Phillips Oduoza, the bank’s Group Managing Director, described the gross earnings for 2013 as impressive “with positive contributions from all our businesses”.
Oduoza said the bank achieved the impressive result in spite of the challenging operating environment.
He said the result demonstrated “the strength and resilience of its people and dedication to implementing our growth plans in 2013.”
UBA is a pan-African Bank with operations in 19 African countries and in New York, London and Paris