The United Bank for Africa (UBA) says it recorded a 39.6 percent growth in gross earnings for the first half (H1) of 2024.

In a statement on Monday addressing its audited financial results for the half year ended June 30, 2024, UBA said gross earnings increased from N981.77 billion in 2023 to N1.37 trillion by June 2024.

The bank said this was achieved despite the tough macroeconomic climate in Nigeria and the geopolitical environment challenges where it operates.

According to Ramon​​​​ Nasir, UBA’s head of media and external relations, the audited financials released to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), showed that the bank recorded double-digit growth in its operating incomes.

He said interest income rose by 134.3 percent, reaching N1 trillion compared to N428.2 billion recorded in June last year while total assets grew by 37.2 percent, increasing from N20.6 trillion in December 2023 to N28.3 trillion.

Nasir said customer deposits increased by 33.7 percent during the same period, reaching N23.2 trillion, up from N17.3 trillion recorded at the end of 2023.

“The results filed showed that profit before tax (PBT) which stood at N403 billion in June 2023, closed the half year at N402 billion, while profit after tax (PAT) dropped slightly from N378 billion to N316 billion in the year under consideration,” he said.

“However, the banks’ shareholders funds increased by 47 percent from N2.03 trillion in December 2023, to N2.99 trillion.”

Also, Nasir said UBA’s board of directors declared an interim dividend of N2 per share for each ordinary share of N0.50 kobo, marking a 300 percent increase compared to the N0.50 kobo declared during the same period in 2023.

He said it is in line with the bank’s culture of paying both interim and final cash dividends.

Commenting on the results, Oliver Alawuba, UBA’s group managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), underscored the bank’s commitment to consistently deliver value to its shareholders.

“UBA Group has continued to deliver strong double-digit growth in high quality and sustainable banking revenue streams, driven by a focused growth in balance sheet, transaction and digital banking businesses across geographies in line with our strategic goals,” Alawuba said.

“The Group’s performance has been buoyed by consistent strong growth in all core and sustainable banking income lines. Our intermediation business showed strong growth with net interest income expanding by 143% YoY to N675billion.

“As the Group intensifies its customer acquisition drive, we are making significant investments in technology, data analytics, product research and innovation to enhance our value proposition and customer experience.”

On his part, Ugo Nwaghodoh, UBA’s executive director on finance and risk, expressed delight at the milestone achieved by the bank in driving operational efficiency.

“Our cost optimisation provides scope for further moderation, as we explore options towards a drastic reduction of our foreign currency denominated cost components, robotizing and automation of processes and application of artificial intelligence to our operations,” Nwaghodoh said.

‘WE’LL FOCUS ON MANAGING CREDIT, INFORMATION SECURITY RISKS’

Nwaghodoh said the group will focus on effectively managing the heightened credit, operational, cyber and information security risks, as it continues to conduct its business within the tenets of UBA’s moderate risk appetite in alignment with the company’s sustainability goals.

The executive director said the group is on track to strengthen its share capital to support its medium to long-term goals while complying with recent regulatory requirements in Nigeria and other regions where it operates.