Economy

UBA Raises Half-Year Dividend by 17.7% Amid 36.5% Rise in Net Profit

Published

5 years ago

10/09/2021

By Dipo Olowookere

The board of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has given shareholders of the company a reason to smile and possibly prepare for a feast as it has increased the interim dividend payout for 2021 by 17.7 per cent.

On Thursday, the financial institution released its financial statements for the period ended June 30, 2021, to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited and it was stated that shareholders will get 20 kobo as cash reward compared with 17 kobo they received in the same time of last year.

Business Post reports that UBA has fixed Thursday, September 30 for the payment of the half-year dividend but it would only be given to shareholders whose names appear on the register of members as at the close of business on Thursday, September 23.

A look at the results showed that the gross earnings increased by 5.0 per cent to N315.3 billion from N300.3 billion in H1 2020, driven by an increase in the contributions of the Rest of Africa and the Rest of the World operations.

The revenue from the Rest of Africa grew to N141.9 billion from N107.2 billion last year, the earnings from the Rest of the World also rose to N9.6 billion from N9.2 billion, while the total revenue from its Nigeria operations depreciated to N171.2 billion from N189.6 billion.

In terms of the earnings from its operating segments, the corporate arm of the business generated N88.3 billion in the first six months of this year, higher than the N55.3 billion in HY 2020; the retail and commercial arm raked N156.9 billion, lower than the N184.8 billion in the same period of last year, while the treasury and financial markets segment generated N70.1 billion, higher than the N60.2 billion a year ago.

In the accounting period, UBA recorded a net interest income of N148.1 billion compared with N119.3 billion in the same time of 2020, driven by higher interest income and lower interest expense of N74.6 billion compared with the N86.3 billion posted in the first half of 2020.

In addition, the net fees and commission income closed higher at N45.8 billion versus N38.6 billion in H1 2020 due to the fees and commission income of N74.1 billion in the period under review compared with N55.9 billion in the same period of last year and fees and commission expense of N28.3 billion in contrast to N17.3 billion it printed 12 months earlier.

However, the net trading and foreign exchange income significantly went down to N9.1 billion from N35.2 billion, while other operating income rose to N9.5 billion from N3.6 billion.

In HY 2021, the lender pruned its employee benefit expenses to N42.6 billion from N44.6 billion but could not tame its other operating expenses, which jumped to N78.8 billion from N78.0 billion due to higher fuel, repairs and maintenance costs; bank charges; deposit insurance premium; and banking sector resolution costs.

The financial statements showed that the pre-tax profit of UBA increased by 33.5 per cent to N76.2 billion from N57.1 billion, while the net profit improved by 36.5 per cent to N60.6 billion from N44.4 billion, with the earnings per share (EPS) at N1.69 in contrast to N1.24 in the first six months of last year.

The total assets of the bank moved to N8.3 trillion in H1 2021 from N7.7 trillion in FY 2020, while the total liabilities rose to N7.6 trillion from N7.0 trillion, with deposits from customers accounting for N6.1 trillion of the total liabilities compared with N5.7 trillion as at December 31, 2020.

Economy

FrieslandCampina Wamco, MRS Oil Buoy NASD Exchange by 0.91%

Published

2 hours ago

04/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its gains by 0.91 per cent on Wednesday, June 3, spurred by three price gainers led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which rose by N13.90 to sell N210.41 per share versus the previous day’s N196.51 per share. MRS Oil appreciated by N10 to N190.00 per unit from N180.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc added 5 Kobo to sell at N3.00 per share versus N2.95 per share.

As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N23.91 billion to N2.660 trillion from N2.636 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) gained 39.97 points to finish at 4,446.27 points, in contrast to Tuesday’s 4,406.30 points.

The NASD exchange witnessed three price losers at midweek, led by Nipco Plc, which shrank by N21.30 to close at N325.97 per unit compared with the previous session’s N347.27 per unit, Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc went down by N1.20 to quote at N24.30 per share versus the preceding session’s N25.50 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc weakened to by 69 Kobo to N75.41 per unit from N76.10 per unit.

The volume of trades yesterday significantly improved by 71.5 per cent to 527,221 units from Tuesday’s 307,363 units, as the value of transactions soared by 49.9 per cent to N64.2 million from the preceding session’s N49.9 million, and the number of deals surged by 9.5 per cent to 46 deals from 42 deals.

When trading activities ended for the day, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 64.6 million units exchanged for N4.4 billion.

GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.

Economy

Naira Continues Positive Run, Official Market Rate Now N1,357/$1

Published

3 hours ago

04/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The positive run of the Naira against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) continued on Wednesday, June 3, with the former chalking up N3.79 or 0.28 per cent against the latter, closing at N1,357.26, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,361.05/$1.

Similarly, the Nigerian currency gained N10.52 against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session to close at N1,822.67/£1 compared with the previous rate of N1,833.19/£1, and appreciated against the Euro by N9.56 to N1,574.83/€1 from N1,584.39/€1.

Further, at the black market, the Naira improved its value against the greenback at midweek by N5 to trade at N1,375/$1 compared with the N1,380/$1 it was traded a day earlier, and at the GTBank FX counter, it gained N6 to sell for N1,372/$1 versus N1,378/$1.

The boost came as the country’s external reserves continued to gain momentum. A look at the updated data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that foreign reserves continue to increase with two consecutive inflows in June 2026, settling at $49.876 billion as of Tuesday.

Foreign portfolio investors, exporters and non-bank corporates continue to keep the supply side strong, with the less aggressive FX interventions by the CBN at the official window in recent times helping to ease worries about capital flight.

The apex bank reported that interbank FX turnover declined to $133.731 million across 136 deals, from $169.822 million the previous day.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market remained bearish due to sell-offs triggered by geopolitical uncertainties and the US stock market rally.

Cardano (ADA) dipped by 5.5 per cent to $0.2046, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 4.8 per cent to $627.56, Solana (SOL) shrank by 3.9 per cent to $72.99, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 2.9 per cent to $1,844.53, and Bitcoin (BTC) slipped by 2.7 per cent to $65,675.87.

Further, Dogecoin (DOGE) depleted by 1.4 per cent to $0.0928, Ripple (XRP) declined by 0.7 per cent to $1.21, and TRON (TRX) lost 0.4 per cent to sell at $0.3336, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) gained 0.01 each to settle at $0.9986 and $0.9997, respectively.

Economy

Customs Street Bleeds 1.44% as Lafarge Africa Leads Losers’ Chart

Published

4 hours ago

04/06/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

Nigeria’s stock market further depleted by 1.44 per cent on Wednesday following panic sell-offs by investors, who are cutting down their exposure to local equities.

Business Post observed that profit-taking dominated Customs Street at midweek, with all the key sectors of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited closing in red.

The insurance space shed 2.76 per cent, the industrial goods index lost 1.55 per cent, the banking counter declined by 1.53 per cent, the consumer goods segment shrank by 0.28 per cent, and the energy sector weakened by 0.05 per cent.

As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 3,554.05 points to 243,132.61 points from 246,686.66 points, and the market capitalisation moderated by N2.279 trillion to N155.940 trillion from N158.219 trillion.

Lafarge Africa led the losers’ chart yesterday after it gave up 9.97 per cent to trade at N307.90, Zichis lost 9.82 per cent to close at N29.20, Learn Africa depreciated by 9.80 per cent to N11.50, John Holt crashed by 9.80 per cent to N13.80, and Consolidated Hallmark dipped by 8.84 per cent to N6.19.

On the flip side, Abbey Mortgage Bank topped the gainers’ log after it grew by 9.93 per cent to N7.75, International Energy Insurance appreciated by 9.89 per cent to N6.00, Tripple G gained 9.80 per cent to sell for N4.37, Universal Insurance expanded by 8.91 per cent to N1.10, and Royal Exchange improved by 7.14 per cent to N1.50.

A total of 17 stocks gained weight yesterday, while 43 stocks lost weight, indicating a negative market breadth index and weak investor sentiment. This has been the mood of the market since the beginning of this week.

Market participants transacted 923.0 million shares worth N42.3 billion in 69,332 deals on Wednesday, in contrast to the 718.8 million shares valued at N29.3 billion traded in 71,683 deals on Tuesday, representing a drop in the number of deals by 3.28 per cent, and a rise in the trading volume and value by 28.41 per cent and 44.37 per cent, respectively.

Sterling Holdings led the activity chart with 264.6 million units valued at N2.1 billion, Access Holdings traded 76.7 million units worth N1.8 billion, Linkage Assurance exchanged 55.1 million units for N99.2 million, VFD Group sold 35.5 million units worth N378.8 million, and Ellah Lakes transacted 33.1 million units valued at N334.3 million.