NKECHI NAECHE ESEZOBOR-–Union Bank Nigeria Plc on wednesday announces its unaudited financial statements for the period ended September 30, 2019.
The group financial highlights shows that
Profit before tax went up 5% to ₦15.6bn in 2018 when compared to ₦14.objet the end of nine months 2019.
Gross earnings came down 4% to ₦117.2bn in 2019 as against ₦122.2bn in 2018 due to a decrease in average earning assets
Interest income down 2% to ₦90.0bn (9M 2018 – ₦91.5bn)
Net interest income after impairment went up 6% to ₦44.3bn (9M 2018 – ₦42.0bn) driven by the impact of collections on impaired facilities
Non-interest income came down 12% to ₦27.1bn (9M 2018 – ₦30.7bn) driven by reduced market volatility in 2019 which had an impact on trading income. Cash Recoveries was up 114% to N8.4bn (9M 2018 – N3.9bn)
Net operating income went down 2% to ₦71.4bn (9M 2018 – ₦72.7bn)
Operating expenses was not left out as it came down 3% to ₦56.2bn (9M 2018 – ₦58.0bn) as a result of our sustained cost optimisation programme
Gross loans: up 9% to ₦566.5bn (Dec 2018 – ₦519.7bn) driven by increased risk asset creation across priority sectors in the economy
Customer deposits: up 4% to ₦892.9bn (Dec 2018 – ₦857.6bn) reflecting our continuing acquisition of low-cost deposits driven by strengthened brand affinity
Commenting on the results, Emeka Emuwa, CEO said:
“Profit Before Tax (PBT) for the Group is up to ₦15.6bn, a 5% increase over the same period in 2018.
Our continued focus on consumer centric service and product propositions is yielding solid results, contributing to a 28% growth in our electronic channels fee income which is at ₦5.6bn for the period. Our debt recovery drive continues to record successes with ₦8.4bn of recoveries year to date.
In line with our stated business objectives, we are continuing to grow our asset book by creating quality risk assets in targeted sectors. This has led to a 9% growth in our loan portfolio to ₦566.5bn compared to N519.7bn at year-end 2018.
Going into the rest of the year, our ambition remains to deliver superior customer experience across all customer touchpoints.”
Speaking on the 9M 2019 numbers, Chief Financial Officer, Joe Mbulu said:
“While we had a slight decline in Gross Earnings for the Group from ₦122.2bn to ₦117.2bn in 2018, our efficiency initiatives, including the deployment of Robotics Process Automation as well as our cost optimisation programme, ensured we delivered 4% growth in Profit After Tax (PAT), recording ₦15.2bn compared to ₦14.7bn in the prior year period.
Our operating expenses reduced by 3% to ₦56.2bn from ₦58.0bn in 9M 2018 and the Bank’s customer-related non-interest revenue drivers remained strong with net fee and commission income growing 10% to ₦9.5bn from ₦8.7bn for the corresponding period in 2018.
We continue to maintain adequate levels of capital with our Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) at 17.8% which is above the regulatory threshold. Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) declined to 8.0% from 8.7% as at year-end 2018.
