UBA Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Oliver Alawuba says the bank’s financial results for the first half of 2023 underscores its commitment to consistently deliver value to its shareholders.
Alawuba who was commenting on the significant growth of the bank, added that the Group made progress in digital payments, retail penetration and also benefited from the effect of revaluation gains, arising from the harmonization of foreign exchange rates at the different access windows in Nigeria.
He said, “The Group recorded strong double-digit growth in revenues and profits from its operations, the result also reflects the effect of sizable revaluation gains, arising from the harmonization of currency exchange rates in Nigeria.
“Our reporting currency found a new exchange level at about N756 to 1US$ as of 30 June 2023, compared to N465 at the beginning of the year. The results again demonstrate the benefits of our long-held diversification strategy across Africa and globally.
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“The growth of our international business, most recently in the UAE, only reinforces this earnings quality.
Continuing he added, “Our business is on a steady growth trajectory, as we further strengthen our risk management traditions and practices necessary technology investments to deliver premium service to our customers. We have also continued to finance landmark projects in critical sectors of the economies across Africa, facilitating intra-Africa trade with our valuable offerings and providing a versatile last-mile distribution network for Africa-bound donor and multilateral agency funds.”
“The three core geographical pillars of our business (Nigeria, Rest of Africa and Rest of the World) are making strong contributions to the Group profit, further justifying our global strategy and business positioning across Africa, UAE, France, UK and USA, and demonstrating the benefits of positioning UBA as the financial intermediary for Africa and the rest of the world,” Alawuba said.
On the plans for the rest of the year, Alawuba said, “As we approach the last quarter of the year, the Group remains strategically positioned to sustain the strong performance, consolidating on H1 2023 results, to deliver superior returns to our esteemed shareholders.”
UBA’s Executive Director of Finance & Risk, Ugo Nwaghodoh, said the half-year 2023 financial numbers reflect an excellent performance across key metrics, as the bank diligently executes its strategic priorities.
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“Our HY2023 financial numbers reflect excellent performance across key metrics, as we diligently execute our priorities for the year. Annualized return on average equity at 57.7% was bolstered by improved operating income and revaluation gains,” he explained.
Nwaghodoh also pointed out that the Group maintains robust capital buffers to support business growth and loss absorbency. The Group’s shareholders’ funds stood at N1.7trillion, with a capital adequacy ratio of 36.4%”.
UBA is a leading pan-African financial institution, offering banking services to more than thirty-seven million customers across 1,000 business offices and customer touch points in 20 African countries.
In line with the Group’s culture of paying both interim and final cash dividends, the Board has approved an interim dividend of 50k per share, which represents over a 150% increase over the prior year.