UBA declares N264.7b gross earnings for 2013

The United Bank for Africa (UBA) has announced gross earnings of N264.7 billion for the financial year ended Dec. 31, 2013.

The earnings showed a 20.3 per cent growth over the N220.1 billion recorded in 2012.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that figures were contained in the company’s audited result released by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday in Lagos.

The bank said the growth in earnings was largely driven by growth of 40.4 per cent in loans and advances and the 25 per cent growth in its total deposits.

In the same vein, the bank’s loan-to-deposit ratio rose from 38.7 per cent to 44.3 per cent.

The bank’s profit before tax also rose by 7.8 per cent to N56.1 billion from the N52 billion posted in 2012.

The bank has proposed a dividend of 50k per share to its shareholders.

NAN reports that the bank also proposed a dividend of 50k to shareholders in 2013.

The bank attributed the growth to prudent cost management policies, enhanced efficiency and the impact of other productive initiatives.

Commenting on the result, Mr Phillips Oduoza, the bank’s Group Managing Director, described the gross earnings for 2013 as impressive “with positive contributions from all our businesses”.

Oduoza said the bank achieved the impressive result in spite of the challenging operating environment.

He said the result demonstrated “the strength and resilience of its people and dedication to implementing our growth plans in 2013.”

UBA is a pan-African Bank with operations in 19 African countries and in New York, London and Paris. (NAN)