UBA PLC TO FOCUS ON LONG TERM GROWTH

The board and management of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc have assured shareholders that the bank is focusing on sustainable long-term growth that will ensure commensurate returns to shareholders.

Against the background of the distribution of N27.2 billion to shareholders as cash dividend for the 2016 business year, directors of the bank said the proactive diversification of UBA Group across the  continent and its national geographic diversification, have built strong resistance against national shocks and ensure that the bank continues to record impressive results year-on-year.

The UBA Group, with headquarters in the country, has operations in 18 other African countries as well as United States (US), United Kingdom (UK) and France. The group’s subsidiaries outside of Nigeria contributed a third of the group’s profit in 2016.

Addressing shareholders of the group at the Annual General Meeting in Lagos, its Chairman, Mr. Tony Elumelu, said the bank’s performance last year had shown tenacity and enterprise of its management team and members of staff, and the ability to give customers what they want.

He pointed out that the performance of the bank, notably in capital adequacy and risk management, illustrated the commitment of the board to the best governance principles.

“We wish to focus on long term growth, which is sustainable and we will not sacrifice these goals for short-term gain or advantage. I want you to know that by investing in UBA, you have diversified your portfolio, you have not just invested in a Nigerian bank, but have invested in a bank with diversified reach, given our operations in Nigeria and 18 other African countries,” Elumelu assured shareholders.

He commended the commitment and enterprise of the bank’s members of staff and exceptional leadership of its management, which resulted in the sterling performance of the bank amidst the challenging operating environment in 2016.

He pointed out that beyond the impressive growths in actual figures; the underlying ratios of the bank are within the best in the industry, assuring that the bank has the capacity to sustain the impressive growths delivered in 2016.

“I am pleased that UBA maintains some of the best prudential ratios in the industry, as our capital adequacy ratio of 20 per cent and 39 per cent liquidity ratio are well above the 15 per cent and 30 per cent regulatory requirement respectively. We will be prudent in lending to critical growth sectors of the African economies, as we remain upbeat on the huge banking opportunities in Africa,’ Elumelu said.

The bank’s Group Managing Director, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, said the bank was optimistic of continuing growth in the years ahead.

“The 2017 outlook remains positive in most of our markets. We are not unaware of the macro challenges, competition and constantly changing customer preferences.  We will further sweat our unique Pan Africa platform to improve productivity, extract efficiency, gains and grow our share of customers’ wallet across all business lines and markets,” Uzoka said.

According to him, as the banking group continues with its customer first philosophy, shareholders can look forward to better performance, especially with the outlook remaining positive in most of the group’s markets.

“We will build on our strong governance culture, zero-tolerance for infractions and transparency in furthering our frontiers of leadership in the African market,” Uzoka said.

Shareholders, who spoke at the meeting, commended the board and management for the focus on growing its pan-African platform, which provides cushions against national shocks.

The Association for the Advancement of the Rights of Nigerian Shareholders (AARNS) President, Dr. Farouk Umar, said shareholders were happy with the bank because of the impressive results and dividend.

“It is obvious from the faces of shareholders that all of us are happy with the performance of the bank. We did not expect anything less because we know that that our chairman is an achiever not only locally but also internationally. We have seen the African expansion and its contribution to our earnings and I believe this is also commendable,” Farouk said.

Shareholders unanimously approved the payment of N19.9 billion as final dividend for the financial year ended December 31, 2016, in addition to N7.3 billion interim dividend paid after the audit of its 2016 half-year results. With this, shareholders would receive a final dividend per share of 55 kobo in addition to interim dividend of 20 kobo, bringing total dividend for the 2016 business year to 75 kobo. This represented 25 per cent increase on 60 kobo paid for the 2015 business year. At the opening price of N5.26 per share at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) this week, the dividend payout represented a dividend yield of 14.3 per cent.

Key extracts of the audited report and accounts for the year ended December 31, 2016 showed that the group gross earnings rose from N314.84 billion in 2015 to N383.65 billion in 2016. Profit before tax stood at N90.64 billion in 2016 as against N68.45 billion in 2015. Profit after tax rose by 21 per cent from N59.65 billion to N72.26 billion. With these, earnings per share increased from N1.79 in 2015 to N2.04 in 2016. UBA Group’s balance sheet also emerged stronger with total assets rising by 27 per cent from N2.75 trillion in 2015 to N3.5 trillion in 2016. Customers’ deposit rose from N2.08 trillion to N2.49 trillion. Shareholders’ funds also increased from N325.83 billion in 2015 to N434.85 billion in 2016.