Unity Bank Plc expects to make a pre-tax profit of N30.41bn in 2017, if the operating environment remains largely stable.
The Managing Director, Unity Bank Plc, Mr. Henry Semenitari, said this in Lagos on Thursday during a ‘Facts behind the figures’ presentation at the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
According to him, the bank expects to realise a pre-tax profit of N20.26bn this year and N26.13bn next year.
In terms of earnings, Semenitari told stockbrokers and other capital market stakeholders at the presentation that Unity Bank hoped to realise N76.26bn as gross earnings this year, N88.52bn in 2016 and N109.49bn in 2017.
The Unity Bank MD explained that the bank would continue to focus on the agriculture sector as a result of its historical strength.
He said the bank would also focus on emerging middle market entrepreneurs in its quest to remain a retail bank of choice.
In terms of the bank’s financial performance, Semenitari said the bank grew significantly in the 2014 financial year, moving from a loss position of N33.64bn – reported for the 2013 financial year to a profit position of N13.6bn pre-tax profit in 2014.
The bank had also declared a profit after tax of N10.692bn in 2014, a marked difference from the loss after tax of N22.582bn it announced a year earlier.
The bank, which had raised N39.224bn via the rights issue and private placement last year in a bid to revamp its operations, had embarked on a share reconstruction exercise.
Commenting on the move, Semenitari said that the bank embarked on the share reconstruction exercise to sustain its business module toward commencement of dividend payment.
According to him, the exercise will enable the bank to ensure enhanced dividend payout to all shareholders in the nearest future as the volume of shares when compared with the shareholders’ funds would not allow the bank to generate profit that would enhance shareholders value.
He gave the shareholders the assurance that the basis of the reconstruction was largely on performance, which would enable the bank to ensure enhanced dividend payment to all shareholders in the nearest future.
