THE United Bank for Africa has said that its African operations contributed significantly to full year 2012
revenues, an indication that the bank is reaping returns from its spread in the rest of the African continent.
According to the bank’s full year financial results, 18 African subsidiaries contributed N42 billion to the UBA Group’s N220 billion revenues which was announced recently.
The bank said that an analysis of the revenue contribution from its subsidiaries partly helped drive the significant 34 per cent rise in the Group’s 2012 earnings from its 2011 levels. Apart from Nigeria, UBA has subsidiaries in 18 different African countries.
The Group’s Managing Director and CEO, Mr. Phillips Oduoza, said during an address to the stockbrokers and investors at the Nigerian Stock Exchange that the bank has continued to record increasing contributions from the subsidiaries to the Group’s bottom-line.
The UBA Group grew earnings by a significant 34.4 per cent to a new three year high while profit after tax rose 904 per cent to N55 billion as at the close of 2012, reversing a N1.12 billion loss in the previous year with total comprehensive income attributable to equity holders of N55.53billion, an increase of 5,058.04 per cent.
Specifically, UBA Senegal, one of the subsidiaries in West Africa posted a significant 168 per cent in earnings to N3.5 billion in December 2012 from N1.31 billion in December 2011. The bank’s profit before tax also rose by a 178 per cent to N1.27 billion from N455 million within the same period helped by the fact that management was able to hold down growth in operating expenses at just 3.9 per cent, which resulted in most of the earnings translating into profit for the bank.
A similar feat was achieved in Sierra Leone where United Bank for Africa (Sierra Leone) Limited made steady and significant strides in the growth of its profits and total assets. According to the bank’s financial statement for last year, the bank posted a profit before tax (PBT) of 8. 2Billion Leones, compared with 2.4Billion Leones in 2011, representing an incremental growth rate of 239%.
In profit-after-tax (PAT) terms, the bank grew by 240% from 1.7 Billion Leones in 2011 to SLL5.8 Billion Leones last year.
There was also a very huge growth in total assets of 213% from December 2011 to the same period last year. The bank’s total assets industry ranking of 10th in December 2011 inched up to 6th in December 2012 with a growth of 167B Leones within the two periods. With this performance, UBA Sierra Leone has consolidated its position as one of the most profitable banks in this country, having achieved a growth in its profits far in excess of 200% in one year.
The impressive performance of the bank is also anchored on several cost-efficient initiatives and a strong risk management framework that optimised the use of resources, and which has resulted in UBA Sierra Leone becoming one of the best banks in cost-income and NPL ratios in Sierra Leone, both of which were 49% and 1.6% respectively by 2012 year-end. The period under review also saw significant improvement in the bank’s return on equity which increased from 7% in 2011 to 19% last year against industry ROE of 8%.
The increasing contribution of subsidiaries to UBA Plc’s revenue base is an affirmation commendable diversification of the bank’s revenue base across countries. It implies that UBA’s country risk exposure to Nigeria is significantly now less.
Indeed, UBA Senegal also witnessed a significant expansion in its market share in Senegal with the bank’s deposit base rising a significant 15 per cent to close the year at N27 billion contributing an average of 84 per cent of the bank’s asset base. This puts the bank in a strong position to continue to support its growth in Senegal. The bank fast pace growth is backed by a strong capital base with a capital adequacy ratio of 60 per cent, well above both domestic and international requirements. The bank’s loan to deposit ratio at 33.2 per cent also means that it is in a strong position to further expand its lending to the local economy in Senegal.
UBA’s presence in certain countries like Mozambique where the world’s largest gas field was recently discovered will have a positive impact on its future earnings. It positions the UBA Group to partake in the expected fast growth that Mozambique will start experiencing because of the gas discovery making its presence in that country strategic. It will be recalled that two country subsidiaries of UBA Plc recently emerged the ‘Best Banks’ in their respective countries. UBA Cameroon and UBA Senegal on March 19, 2013 were named ‘World’s Best Banks in 2013’ in their respective countries by Global Finance magazine in New York.
Explaining the UBA Group’s strong performance, Phillips Oduoza, Group Managing Director and CEO said “UBA has continued to focus on customer service delivery, efficient capital management and returns maximization with return on equity exceeding 30 per cent in 2012. Our ability to serve clients globally with solutions tailored to their needs has given us a strong advantage in today’s rapidly changing and highly competitive market place”
The UBA Group is an acknowledged industry leader in commercial and retail banking across Africa with operations in 19 African countries serving over 7 million customer accounts through multiple channels and remote locations.