The Rainbow
United Bank for Africa recorded 21.7 per cent decline in after-tax in the first half of 2020, the result the bank sent to the Nigeria Stock Exchange on Tuesday has shown.
It reported a PAT of N44.43billion in the first half of this year as against N56.74billion reported in first half 2019.
The result also showed 18.7 per cent decline in profit before tax to N57.13billion in H1 2020 as against N70.27billion reported in H1 2019.
The report shows that the profitability indices were negatively impacted by 20.56 per cent growth in operating expenses to N132 billion as against N109.6 billion in H1 2019.
“Other operating expenses” also closed the period under review at N77.97billion from N63.6billion reported in H1 2019, which represents 22.6 per cent growth.
In the half-year which ended June 30, 2020, the bank’s total assets growing by 20.9 per cent to N6.77 trillion for the half-year under review from N5.6billion reported in the full-year ended December 31, 2019.
It also recorded a 6.1 per cent growth to N2.18 trillion in loans to customers in H1 2020 from N2.06trillion reported in the full-year ended December 21, 2019, whilst customer deposits increased by 25.2 per cent to N4.8 trillion, compared to N3.8 trillion recorded in the corresponding period of 2019.
The bank’s directors, according to the report, proposed an interim dividend of N0.17 per share (30 June 2019: N0.20 per share) from the retained earnings account as at 30 June 2020.
The Group Managing Director/CEO of the UBA Plc, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, described the bank’s performance as encouraging despite the challenging business environment.
He said, “In response to the spread of COVID-19 several national governments have announced a partial or total lockdown in a number of our markets, post-Q1 2020. Fortunately, we have built robust electronic channel platforms to enable us effectively serve our customers from the convenience of their homes.
Despite the lockdown, our banking channels have remained open to our customers 24/7, even as we continue to align and adapt our operating model to ensure we service our customers excellently and safely.”
Another top bank in the Nigeria Guaranty Trust Bank reported over N100 billion as PAT at the same period.
