UBA delivers respectable toplines as revenue rises 6.9% to N658.3bn

UNITED BANK OF AF RICA, which prides itself as African global bank, saw its topline numbers come home respectfully in 2021 with gross earnings rising 6.9 percent year on year to N658.3 billion from N615.8 billion in 2020.

The positive gross earnings were driven by driven by a solid 22.1 percent year on year growth in net interest income to N316.7 billion, and a 22.1 percent year on year jump in fee and commission income to N100.9 billion, which was partially offset by a 70.1 percent decline in net trading and foreign exchange income to N16.4 billion in 2021, from the N54.8 million recorded in 2020.

Consequently, UBA’s profit before tax was up by 20.3 percent year on year to N153.1 billion. This increase was offset by an increase in the effective tax rate to 22.5 percent in full-year 2021 from 14.2 percent in 2020, leading to an after-tax profit of N118.7 billion, compared to N109.2 billion last year, a 8.7 percent year on year growth.

The Group’s earnings per share went from N3.10 in 2020 to N3.39 per share in 2021, with the board proposing a final dividend of N0.80, which brought the total dividend for the financial year ended December 31, 2021, to N1.

Africa’s global bank in the full-year audited financial statement also reported that the earnings from interest income on FVTPL securities fell massively by 93.2 percent year on year to N353 million due to a significant decline in interest income from promissory notes. Nevertheless, UBA’s interest income on amortised cost and FVOCI securities rose 12.1 percent year on year to N473.9 billion due to a 117.7 percent increase in the interest income on loans and advances to banks, resulting in a 22.1 percent year on year increase in net interest income.