United Bank for Africa Plc has released its unaudited financial report for Q1, 2020 showing that profit before tax grew to N32.7 billion compared with N30.2 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2019.
The bank also sustained its strong profitability recording an annualized 20 per cent Return on Average Equity (RoAE).
The bank recorded 11.8 per cent percent year-on-year growth in gross earnings to close at N147.2 billion for the three months ending March 2020, compared to N131.7 billion recorded in the first three months of 2019.
The bank’s total assets also rose by 13.4 per cent to N6.4 trillion in the period under review, compared to N5.6 trillion recorded at the end of the 2019 financial; while shareholders’ funds grew to N612.6bn from N597.9 billion in the same period.
Commenting on the result, the group managing director and chief executive officer of the bank, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, expressed satisfaction with the bank’s performance in the first quarter of 2020, despite challenging business environment.
“We are pleased with our top and bottom lines in the first quarter of 2020, delivering N147.2billion in gross earnings and profit before tax of N32.7billion.
“The double-digit growth in the top line testifies to the resilience of our business model as a group, even as the 17 per cent growth in our fees and commission income underscores our diversified business model, enabling us to deliver best value to our stakeholders, even in tough macroeconomic scenarios.
“I am very excited about recent successes we have recorded in all our business segments, especially our retail and electronic banking businesses within the period, with retail deposits accounting for 72 per cent of customer deposits even as cost-of-funds moderates to 3.3 per cent.
“We will continue to grow market share in all our markets, whilst maintaining cost discipline across our businesses, driving efficiency in our processes using best-rated technology.’’
