Tony Elumelu (4th right) and other officials of UBA
UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA (UBA) Plc has assured its teeming shareholders and investors of greater returns in the coming months.
UBA Group Chairman, Tony O. Elumelu, who recently gave this assurance to shareholders at the 59th Annual General Meeting, explained that the bank had made strategic decisions that would strengthen its resolve to earn the industry leadership that it had envisioned in Nigeria, Africa and globally.
Commenting on the performance of the bank, he noted, “Our African operations (ex-Nigeria) have contributed approximately 55% of our profits for the year, illustrating that we are truly a pan-African bank.”
To this effort, he said UBA Ghana contributed 11% of the Group’s Operating Income, and 12% of the Group’s profit before tax. UBA Ghana also contributed 9% of the Group’s after-tax
profit.
The Group Chairman further explained that the bank remained committed to ensuring that its viability, amid an ever-changing business environment, was to continue to be a role model for African businesses, by showcasing the best of Africa to the world.
At the end of the 2020 financial year, he said UBA’s profits grew remarkably by 27.7 percent to N113.8 billion (GHS 1.59 billion), compared to N89.1 billion (GHS 1.25 billion), recorded at the end of the 2019 financial year.
Profit-before-tax was impressive, at N131.9 billion (GHS 1.85 billion), compared to N111.3 billion (GHS 1.56 billion), at the end of the 2019 financial year.
Gross earnings grew by 10.8 percent to N620.4 billion (GHS 8.69 billion), compared to N559.8 billion (GHS 7.84 billion), recorded in the same period of 2019, whilst total assets also grew by 5.6 percent to an unprecedented N7.7 trillion (GHS 107.8 billion), for the year under review.
In its usual tradition of rewarding shareholders, the bank proposed a final dividend of N0.35 kobo, for every ordinary share of 50 kobo, bringing the total dividend for the year to N0.52 kobo, as the bank had paid an interim dividend of N0.17 kobo, earlier in the year.
Shareholders at the meeting commended the bank’s decision to plough back some of its profits into business consolidation, adding that, these times called for prudent and effective management of financial resources for all businesses, especially those with high shareholding rates, such as the UBA.
UBA’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Kennedy Uzoka, who responded to shareholders’ comments at the meeting, spoke on the reduced dividend pay-out this year, explaining that the bank had decided to be conservative, so as to further strengthen the business.