UBA making huge returns for investors – Elumelu

Chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Tony Elumelu has revealed that the bank’s strategic investment decisions over the past few years have translated to huge returns for investors despite the challenging business environment witnessed in the last two years.

Elumelu disclosed this at the bank’s 60th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Abuja recently.

It is noteworthy that at the end of the 2021 financial year, UBA’s Profit Before Tax grew by 20.3 per cent to N153.1 billion, compared to N127.3 billion in 2020; while Profit After Tax rose by 8.7 per cent to N118.7 billion in 2021 from N109.2 billion recorded the previous year.

As a result, the bank proposed a final dividend of 80 kobo for the year ended December 31, 2021, bringing the total dividend for the year to N1.00. The bank had earlier paid an interim dividend of 20 kobo.

Speaking at the AGM, Elumelu said, ““I am proud of how as a Group, we have been able to further consolidate on the new capabilities we have built, novel customer solutions we have deployed, efficiency gains recorded and the growth prospects we have leveraged from a recovering world.”

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“These were the building blocks for the very strong financial performance and the growth delivered by your Group in 2021, further confirming the wisdom of the investments we made and the strategy we have pursued, to ensure the diversification and sustainability of our business model.”

Also speaking at the AGM, UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Kennedy Uzoka, said; “We are happy that the global community recognises the role our Group is playing in the transformation of the African economic landscape through innovative and customer focused banking services.”

“Our business in the United Kingdom has specifically witnessed remarkable expansion. As from July 2021, UBA UK started making profit, and even to date, they are still doing well, and the same can be said for many of our African subsidiaries.”

“The truth is that we are driven by the opportunities and potential in each of the geographies that we invested in, and we are happy with what we have achieved so far’.”

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Meanwhile, Chairman Emeritus of the Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Sir Sunny Nwosu expressed the delight of shareholders over the consistent payment of dividends by the bank.

“The leadership of the bank has been very effective; we thank Tony Elumelu for the leadership he has been giving, he has increased the dividend in spite of the economic hardship in the country, and I believe the GMD is doing very well. I commend the management and staff of the bank, including the board, and I am very confident that this year would also be very good for the bank.”

Also speaking on behalf of shareholders, the President of the Association of the Rights of Nigerian Shareholders (AARNS), Dr. Faruk Umar, said: “The bank is doing very well. All the ratios and indices have gone up.