Business
UBA profit rose to N757bn in 2023 — up from N201bn in 2022
The United Bank for Africa (UBA) says it recorded N757.7 billion in profit before tax (PBT) in 2023 — rising from N201 billion in 2022.
In a statement on Tuesday addressing its 2023 financial reports, UBA said its PBT grew by 277 percent year-on-year despite the highly challenging global economic and business environment.
UBA said the growth was a significant achievement in the history of the company.
The company said its profit after tax (PAT) grew by 257 percent from N170 billion in 2022, to N608 billion in the year under consideration.
According to the lender, gross earnings grew from N853.2 billion recorded at the end of 2022 to close at N2.08 trillion the previous year.
Furthermore, the bank’s total assets also rose remarkably by 90.22 percent, to N20.65 trillion in December 2023 – up from N10.86 trillion in 2022.
Commenting on the results, Oliver Alawuba, UBA’s group managing director and chief executive officer, said the bank’s results reinforce its resolve to expand its market share of customers, funding, as well as digital and transaction banking businesses across Africa.
“I am very pleased with the unprecedented results achieved by our Group in FY2023,” Alawuba said.
“The Group’s shareholder’s funds crossed N2 trillion from N922 billion in 2022, whilst total assets crossed the N20 trillion mark (90.2% YoY growth).
“The Group is well positioned for further business expansion in FY2024 having closed FY2023 with capital adequacy ratio of 32.6%.
“Driven by our customer service and execution-led delivery model, we will continue to expand our market share and create value for our shareholders and meet the expectations of our various stakeholders.”
On his part, Ugo Nwaghodoh, UBA’s executive director, finance and risk management, said 2023 was a particularly eventful year, with galloping inflation and currency depreciation ravaging key markets, amidst pockets of regional conflicts and security challenges.
“I am delighted however at the strong growth in earnings and profitability recorded in the year,” Nwaghodoh said.
“The Group conservatively set up significant impairment reserves against its overall risk assets portfolio considering the latent impact of the macroeconomic headwinds on our credit portfolio.”
On the expectation for the 2024 financial year, Nwaghodoh said the bank is committed to sustainable growth and maintaining its strong compliance and risk management practices culture as the company drives business through the next phase of growth.
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has increased deposit insurance coverage for all licensed deposit-taking financial institutions.
NDIC disclosed this in a post on its Facebook page on Thursday.
Deposit insurance protects depositors’ funds in the event of a bank failure.
Bello Hassan, NDIC managing director and chief executive officer (CEO), said the deposit insurance coverage for commercial banks was increased from N500,000 to N5 million.
Hassan said the increase provides coverage for 98.98 percent of depositors in Nigeria.
The naira declined to N1,370 against the dollar at the parallel section of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Wednesday.
This represents a 1.48 percent depreciation from N1,350 traded on April 29.
Currency traders, also known as bureau de change (BDC) operators, put the buying rate of the greenback at N1,330 and the selling price at N1,370 — leaving a profit margin of N40.
At the official window, the local currency appreciated by 1.98 percent to N1,390 on April 30 — from N1,419.11 on April 29.
During trading, the exchange rate rose as high as N1,450 and as low as N1,200 according to data from FMDQ Exchange, a platform that oversees FX trading in Nigeria.
The naira devaluation has continued to pose significant challenges to firms, cutting deep into profit margins and eroding shareholders’ dividends.
On April 30, Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Industries Limited, said the devaluation of naira created the “biggest mess” for the company in 2023.
“We are doing whatever it takes to make sure that at the end of the day, we will be paying dividends because if you look at our dividends last year, it was almost 50 percent more so we will try and get out of the mess,” Dangote said.
“The biggest mess created was actually the devaluation of the naira from N460 to N1,400.”
He said almost 97 percent of the companies, especially in food and beverages businesses, will not pay dividends this year due to the FX constraints.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has informed the public that the current fuel shortages and the accompanying queues will be resolved by Wednesday.
Olufemi Soneye, Chief Communications Officer at NNPCL, shared this information with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.
He stated that the company has more than 1.5 billion litres of fuel in stock, sufficient to last for at least 30 days.
“Unfortunately, we experienced a three-day disruption in distribution due to logistical issues, which has since been resolved.
“However, as you know, overcoming such disruptions typically requires double the amount of time to return to normal operations.
“Some folks are taking advantage of this situation to maximize profits.
“Thankfully, product scarcity has been minimal lately, but these folks might be exploiting the situation for unwarranted gain.
“The lines will be cleared out between today and tomorrow,” Soneye assured.
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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.
She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others
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