Business
UBA declares N316.4bn half-year profit, N2 dividend
UBA declares N316.4bn half-year profit, N2 dividend
Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has released its audited financial results for the half year ended June 30, 2024, with an impressive performance across key financial indicators.
Specifically, the bank recorded a pre-tax profit of N401.5 billion and N316 billion after-tax profit in the year under consideration.
The bank said in a statement on Monday that this was achieved despite the tough macroeconomic climate in Nigeria and the geopolitical environment challenges where it operates.
According to UBA’s Head of Media and External Relations, Ramon Nasir, the audited financials released to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Monday showed that the bank recorded double-digit growth in its gross earnings and operating incomes. showed that the bank recorded double-digit growth in its operating incomes.
He said interest income rose by 134.3 per cent, reaching N1 trillion compared to N428.2 billion recorded in June last year while total assets grew by 37.2 percent, increasing from N20.6 trillion in December 2023 to N28.3 trillion.
He said customer deposits increased by 33.7 per cent during the same period, reaching N23.2 trillion, up from N17.3 trillion recorded at the end of 2023.
“The results filed showed that profit before tax (PBT) which stood at N403 billion in June 2023, closed the half year at N402 billion, while profit after tax (PAT) dropped slightly from N378 billion to N316 billion in the year under consideration,” he said.
He added, “However, the banks’ shareholders funds increased by 47 percent from N2.03 trillion in December 2023, to N2.99 trillion.”
Nasir also said UBA’s board of directors declared an interim dividend of N2 per share for each ordinary share of N0.50 kobo, marking a 300 percent increase compared to the N0.50 kobo declared during the same period in 2023.
He said this was in line with the bank’s culture of paying both interim and final cash dividends.
Commenting on the results, UBA’s Group Managing Director/CEO, Oliver Alawuba, stressed the bank’s commitment to consistently deliver value to its shareholders.
He said, “UBA Group has continued to deliver strong double-digit growth in high quality and sustainable banking revenue streams, driven by a focused growth in balance sheet, transaction and digital banking businesses across geographies in line with our strategic goals.
“The Group’s performance has been buoyed by consistent strong growth in all core and sustainable banking income lines. Our intermediation business showed strong growth with net interest income expanding by 143% YoY to N675 billion.
“As the Group intensifies its customer acquisition drive, we are making significant investments in technology, data analytics, product research and innovation to enhance our value proposition and customer experience.”
The UBA’s Executive Director on Finance and Risk, Ugo Nwaghodoh, expressed delight at the milestones achieved by the bank in driving operational efficiency.
“Our cost optimisation provides scope for further moderation, as we explore options towards a drastic reduction of our foreign currency denominated cost components, robotizing and automation of processes and application of artificial intelligence to our operations,” Nwaghodoh said.
He said the group would focus on effectively managing the heightened credit, operational, cyber and information security risks, as it continues to conduct its business within the tenets of UBA’s moderate risk appetite in alignment with the company’s sustainability goals.
The executive director said the group was on track to strengthen its share capital to support its medium to long-term goals while complying with recent regulatory requirements in Nigeria and other regions where it operates.
Business
PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency
PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency
No fewer than 200 trucks are set to load petroleum products at the government-owned Port Harcourt Refinery, the presidency has said.
A presidential spokesperson, Sunday Dare, made this known in a statement through his official X handle on Tuesday.
Newstrends had reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company on Tuesday announced that Port Harcourt Refinery has resumed operations and crude oil processing after years of inactivity.
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Reacting, Dare said, “200 trucks are expected to load products daily from the refinery, Renewing the Hopes of Nigeria.”
He added that “the Port Harcourt refinery has two wings.
“The Old Refinery comes on stream today with an installed production capacity of 60, 000 barrels per day of crude oil.”
PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency
Business
Breaking: CBN increases interest rate to 27.50%
Breaking: CBN increases interest rate to 27.50%
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised the lending interest to 27.50 per cent from 27.25 per cent.
This latest increase in the Monetary Policy Rate came after a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday and concluded Tuesday.
The Monetary Policy Rate measures the benchmark interest rate.
The CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso, announced this in Abuja on Tuesday after the MPC meeting, last for the year, held at the apex bank’s headquarters.
He said the MPC voted unanimously to raise the MPR by 25 basis points from 27.25% to 27.50%; and retain the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 50% for Deposit Money Banks and 16% for Merchant Banks.
The CBN governor also said the MPC retained the Liquidity Ratio (LR) at 30% and Asymmetric Corridor at +500/-100 basis points around the MPR.
Business
Nigeria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in Q2 – NBS
Nigeria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in Q2 – NBS
Nigeria’s unemployment rate stood at 4.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said in its latest report.
The report released on Monday said the unemployment rate decreased compared to the 5.3 per cent recorded in the Q1 of 2024.
The NBS defined the unemployment rate as the share of the labour force (the combination of unemployed and employed people) who are not employed but actively searching and are available for work.
“The unemployment rate for Q2 2024 was 4.3%, showing an increase of 0.1 percentage point compared to the same period last year,” the report stated.
“The unemployment rate among males was 3.4% and 5.1% among females.
“By place of residence, the unemployment rate was 5.2% in urban areas and 2.8% in rural areas. Youth unemployment rate was 6.5% in Q2 2024, showing a decrease from 8.4% in Q1 2024.”
Report also said the unemployment rate among persons with post-secondary education was 4.8 per cent; 8.5 per cent among those with upper secondary education, 5.8 per cent for those with lower secondary education, and 2.8 per cent among those with primary education in Q2 2024.
Employment rate – 76%
The report showed that the employment-to-population ratio, which measures the number of employed workers against the total working-age population, increased to 76.1 per cent in Q2 2024.
“In Q2 2024, 76.1% of Nigeria’s working-age population was employed, up from 73.1% in Q1 2024,” the report stated.
Self-employment – 85.6%
The report further showed that Nigeria’s labour market saw a notable shift as the proportion of self-employed individuals increased in Q2 2024.
It stated, “The proportion of persons in self-employment in Q2 2024 was 85.6%.”
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