Economy
Union Bank Grows PAT by 17% to N5.3b in Q1 2018
By Dipo Olowookere
One of the old generation financial institutions in the country, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, has recorded a 17 percent growth in its profit after tax in the first quarter of 2018.
In its audited financial statements for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 announced on Thursday, the lender said its PAT appreciated to N5.3 billion from N4.5 billion in the corresponding period of last year, just as the profit before tax closed at N5.4 billion as at March 31, 2018 in contrast to N4.7 billion in Q1 2017.
Also, the gross earnings went up by 15 percent to N39.5 billion from N34.3 billion in Q1 2017, driven by improvement in net interest margins from 7.1 percent to 8.7 percent and 18 percent increase in non-interest income due to enhanced trading income and increased volumes on alternate banking channels.
Furthermore, interest income increased by 14 percent to N31.7 billion from N27.7 billion in Q1 2017 buoyed by improved yields on loans and government securities.
In addition, the firm’s net interest income before impairment rose by 22 percent to N17.8 billion from N14.6 billion in Q1 2017, driven by 14 percent increase in interest income and a lower 6 percent increase in interest expense.
It was also revealed in the statements that the non-interest income went up by 18 percent to N7.8 billion from N6.6 billion in Q1 2017, driven by a combination of trading income and alternate channel revenues, while the net operating income increased by 11 percent to N23.3 billion from N20.9 billion in Q1 2017.
Furthermore, the operating expenses jumped by 10 percent to N17.9 billion from N16.3 billion in Q1 2017, largely due to regulatory levies from the NDIC and AMCON.
However, the gross loans went down by 12 percent to N495.5 billion from N560.7 billion as at December 2017 as a result of collection efforts and the write-off of some non-performing loans.
During the period under review, the customer deposits of Union Bank went down by 5 percent to N759.1 billion from N802.4 billion in December 2017 as the lender optimised the deposit book towards lower-cost deposits.
It was observed that there was a 68 percent increase in new-to-bank accounts when compared with Q1 2017, highlighting customer acceptance of new products and increasing brand penetration.
There was also a 90 percent increase in volume of funds transfer transactions on Union Bank’s alternate channels, highlighting efficiencies gained from technology investments, which are driving increased customer adoption.
Commenting on the results, the chief executive of Union Bank, Mr Emeka Emuwa, stated that, “In 2018, we renewed our focus on driving efficiency and productivity across the entire organization.
“The objective is to ensure we fully leverage our resources including human, technology and new capital in order to maximize our bottom line.
“While we are just in the early stages of this drive, we are already starting to see positive results. In the first quarter, our Profit Before Tax grew by 16 percent compared to the same quarter in 2017. Gross earnings, bolstered by improved asset yields, strong treasury trading and revenue from our alternate channels, which is steadily seeing increasing customer adoption, are also up by 15 percent to N39.5 billion against N34.3 billion Q1 2017.
“Our Group Non-Performing Loan Ratio is down to 14.9 percent from 19.8 percent at the end of 2017.
“We continue to maintain aggressive focus on our impaired loans and we expect to resolve some large exposures in the course of the year, which will further drive down the ratio. We are pushing strongly on debt recovery efforts across board including initiating or continuing legal action where necessary.
“For the first half of the year, we will continue to hone initiatives around our productivity drive, focusing our people on targeted opportunities across regions and optimising our technology and digital platforms to deliver operational efficiency and improved customer service.
Also speaking on the Q1 2018 numbers, Chief Financial Officer of the bank, Oyinkan Adewale said, “The first quarter numbers reflect the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 9, which came into effect at the start of 2018. We are pleased that the Bank’s regulatory risk reserve was adequate to absorb the impact of the new accounting rules.
“Our Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) remains robust at 17.9 percent in spite of the impact of IFRS 9 on impairments. Liquidity ratio is at 39.4 percent, well above the minimum requirement, while Net Interest Margin improved to 8.73 percent from 7.14 percent in Q1 2017.
“Profit After Tax (PAT) rose 17 percent to N5.3 billion compared to N4.5 billion recorded in Q1 2017. Notwithstanding a 19 percent and 27 percent increase in our AMCON levy and NDIC premium respectively, our operating expenses increased by only 10 percent given the continued focus on optimising operating costs.
“We continue to proactively in managing the risks in our business as we pursue targeted opportunities identified for growth.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange opened the week with a 0.52 per cent rise on Monday, July 20, driven by renewed buying interest.
The volume of securities traded during the opening session surged by 6,663.3 per cent to 52.6 million units from the previous 777,002 units, and the value of securities rose by 200.9 per cent to N191.2 million from the preceding session’s N104.2 million, while the number of deals depreciated by 15.2 per cent to 28 deals compared to the preceding session’s 33 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion in trades, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 75.4 million units exchanged for N5.3 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
Yesterday, there were two price gainers and three price losers, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which slid by 66 Kobo to end at N141.15 per unit versus last Friday’s N141.81 per unit, Food Concepts Plc lost 24 Kobo to close at N2.31 per share versus N2.55 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc declined by 17 Kobo to settle at N2.25 per unit compared with the previous closing price of N2.42 per unit.
Conversely, CSCS Plc chalked up N5.19 to close at N99.33 per share versus N94.14 per share, and Mass Telecoms Plc appreciated by 3 Kobo to sell at 35 Kobo per unit from 32 Kobo per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N13.57 billion to N2.606 trillion from N2.593 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) gained 22.6 points to quote at 4,343.27 points, in contrast to the previous 4,320.67 points.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira almost traded flat against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, July 20. It gained 7 Kobo during the session to sell at N1,380.11/$1, in contrast to last Friday’s value of N1,380.18/$1.
It also appreciated against the Euro in the same market window during the session by N1.64 to close at N1,575.95/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,576.99/€1, but depreciated against the Pound Sterling by N2.93 to trade at N1,857.35/£1 compared with the previous trading day’s N1,854.42/£1.
At the GTBank forex desk, the Nigerian Naira lost N1 against the US Dollar to quote at N1,389/$1 versus N1,388/$1, and at the black market, it traded flat at N1,405/$1.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that interbank FX turnover settled at $266.2 million, 7.5 per cent lower than the previous close of $287.8 million. Also, the number of deals at the interbank FX market declined to 68 from 106.
Despite this, there are signals that the Naira has pillars that can prop up its stability. Updated data from the apex bank showed Nigeria’s gross foreign exchange reserves increased to $51.92 billion as of July 16, 2026, reflecting continued improvements in the country’s external position.
A slew of analysts predict further increases will lift the gross balance above $52 billion this week, the highest seen since 2009.
Also, there are expectations that the country will be able to boost remittances into the country to $1 billion on a monthly basis by the end of the year; this will help ease pressure on the FX markets.
Meanwhile, in the crypto market, Bitcoin (BTC) climbed to about $65,500, reaching a two-week high, as the semiconductor selloff that dragged crypto lower last week reversed and Asian chip stocks led a broad risk rally. It rose by 2.4 per cent to $65,676.01.
There was also support from five straight days of inflows into US spot Bitcoin ETFs totalling more than $600 million, marking the strongest stretch of institutional buying since mid-July.
Cardano (ADA) jumped by 8.3 per cent to $0.1756, Ethereum (ETH) grew by 4.0 per cent to $1,930.33, Ripple (XRP) improved by 3.9 per cent to $1.13, Solana (SOL) appreciated by 3.2 per cent to $78.34, Binance Coin (BNB) added 1.9 per cent to sell for $575.34, and Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 1.7 per cent rise to $0.0729.
However, TRON (TRX) declined by 0.1 per cent to $0.3261, and the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each
By Dipo Olowookere
Sustained bargain-hunting in local stocks further lifted the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by 1.12 per cent on Monday.
The buying pressure was across the major sectors of Customs Street, though the consumer goods space came under profit-taking, closing flat.
But the banking counter expanded by 3.14 per cent, the industrial goods index gained 2.82 per cent, the insurance sector increased by 0.25 per cent, and the energy segment soared by 0.08 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) surged by 2,721.83 points to 246,183.96 points from 243,462.13 points, and the market capitalisation went up by N1.755 trillion to N158.812 trillion from N157.057 trillion.
Custodian Investment and NEM Insurance chalked up 10.00 per cent each to sell for N75.90 and N30.80, respectively, BUA Cement rose by 9.98 per cent to N303.10, First Holdco improved by 9.95 per cent to N105.50, and FTN Cocoa advanced by 9.94 per cent to N9.29.
On the flip side, SUNU Assurances shrank by 10.00 per cent to N3.60, Tripple Gee slipped by 9.77 per cent to N3.51, ABC Transport tumbled by 9.62 per cent to N7.05 per cent, Abbey Bank crashed by 9.00 per cent to N9.10, and Coronation Insurance dipped by 7.69 per cent to N2.40.
The market breadth index was flat yesterday, as there were 31 price gainers and 31 price losers.
First Holdco led the activity chart during the session, with a turnover of 203.9 million shares valued at N21.5 billion. Access Holdings sold 190.7 million equities worth N4.8 billion, UBA traded 29.2 million stocks for N1.4 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 24.7 million shares valued at N2.9 billion, and Sterling Holdings exchanged 23.6 million equities worth N187.4 million.
When trading activities ended at 4 pm, investors traded 851.6 million stocks for N49.6 billion in 56,873 deals compared with the 685.9 million stocks valued at N42.7 billion transacted in 44,134 deals last Friday, representing a rise in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 24.16 per cent, 16.16 per cent, and 28.86 per cent, respectively.
