Directors of United Bank for Africa Plc, on Thursday presented its unaudited result for the third quarter ended September 30, showing that profit after tax growth rose significantly higher than earnings, just as shareholders’ funds soared by 31 per cent.
Gross earnings for the period rose by 17.3 per cent to N247.205 billion, up from N210.715 billion. Operating income stood at N167.423 billion, up from N138.389 billion, while operating expenses improved by 11.9 per cent from N93.46 billion to N104.607 billion.
Profit before tax rose from N42.543 billion in the comparable period of 2014 to N57.366 billion, while net profit climbed 44.4 per cent to N48.557 billion from the previous N33.628 billion. This translates to earnings per share of N1.34, up by 31.3 per cent from N1.02, an indication that the directors could offer a juicier final dividend by year end. The bank, last month paid shareholders interim dividend of 20 kobo per share.
According to details of the result released to the market, UBA Plc grew its total assets by 8.3 per cent to N2.872 trillion from N2.762 trillion within the period. Loans and advances portfolio rose by 2.4 per cent from N991.189 billion to N1.014 trillion, while deposit base increased by 3.9 per cent to N2.17 trillion from N2.09 trillion. This resulted in loans to deposit ratio of 46.64, as against the previous 47.35. Total liabilities improved from N2.55 trillion from N2.405 trillion, while shareholders’ funds jumped to N322.558 billion from N246.151 billion.
