United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has announced its audited financial statements for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023, which demonstrate remarkable and impressive success across all main performance parameters.
The bank’s 2023 financials, which were submitted to Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Monday, revealed a remarkable increase in gross earnings, which increased from N853.2 billion at the end of 2022 to N2.08 trillion at the close, a robust 143 percent gain.
Significantly, the banks’ total assets increased by 90.22 percent as well, surpassing the N10 trillion threshold and closing at N20.65 trillion in December 2023 (compared to N10.86 trillion in 2022).
In the financial powerhouse’s history, the leap continues to be an extremely noteworthy accomplishment and milestone. UBA recorded an impressive profit before tax, with an exponential growth of 277 percent, to close the year under review at N758 billion, up from N201 billion recorded at the end of the 2022 financial year. Meanwhile, profit after tax (PAT) increased by 257 percent, from N170 billion in 2022 to N608 billion in the year under consideration, despite the extremely difficult global economic and business environment.
The money owned by UBA Group shareholders increased by 120.2 percent from December 2022 to N2 trillion at the end of the 2023 fiscal year. This is a significant increase from the previous year.
The UBA Group’s cost-to-income ratio decreased to 37.2% in the year under review from 59.2% in 2022, indicating the Group’s increasing efficiency.
Following up on his promise to shareholders at the most recent Annual General Meeting (AGM), Tony Elumelu, the Chairman of the UBA Group, the bank proposed a final dividend for the financial year ending December 31, 2023, of N2.30 kobo for each ordinary share valued at 50 kobo. The shareholders’ approval at the next AGM will determine the final dividend.
In addition, the bank’s loans to customers increased by 61.3 percent to N5.5 trillion in 2023, while customer deposits increased by 90.31% to N14.9 trillion from N7.8 trillion in the same period in 2022. These improvements were due to higher customer confidence, improved customer experiences, the bank’s ongoing business transformation program’s successes, and the bank’s strengthening of its retail banking franchise.
Oliver Alawuba, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of UBA, commented on the outcomes, saying: “I am really happy with our group’s exceptional FY2023 results. After tax, the Group’s earnings increased to N758 billion from N201 billion the previous year. Additionally, the balance sheet increased to N20.7 trillion from N10.8 trillion the year before.”
“Total assets surpassed N20 trillion (90.2 percent YoY growth), while the group’s shareholder funds topped N2 trillion from N922bn in 2022. With a capital adequacy ratio of 32.6% at the end of FY2023, the Group is well-positioned for continued business expansion in FY2024.”
The bank’s Ex-Nigeria business contributes to the Group’s results, he continued, which justifies the bank’s diversified business model (Pan-African and International strategy) and strengthens its resolve to increase its market share of customers, funding, digital, and transaction banking businesses throughout Africa.
The GMD said, “We will continue to grow our market share, create value for our shareholders, and meet the expectations of our various stakeholders, driven by our execution-led delivery model and customer service.”
