By Dipo Olowookere
The Group Managing Director/CEO of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Mr Kennedy Uzoka, has said the company has the strong capacity to perform excellently under any condition.
Mr Uzoka said this when he reacted to the impressive double-digit growth the banking institution recorded across most of its major income lines in the first quarter of this year.
In the period ended March 31, 2021, UBA delivered a 24 per cent year-on-year growth in the net profit to N40.6 billion from N32.7 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2020.
The lender sustained its strong profitability with an annualised 20.5 per cent Return on Average Equity (RoAE) as against the 19.9 per cent printed in the same period of last year.
Driven by year-on-year growth in interest income, UBA posted another impressive 5.5 per cent year-on-year growth in gross earnings to close at N155.4 billion for the three month period ending March 2021, compared to N147.2 billion recorded in the first three months of 2020.
Also, the bank’s total assets also rose by 2.5 per cent to N7.9 trillion in the period under review from N7.7 trillion recorded at the end of the 2020 financial year.
For Mr Uzoka, the result reflects UBA’s capacity to sustainably grow earnings even in a highly uncertain macroeconomic environment.
He added that the robust capital and liquidity positions have positioned the bank as it continues to support its customers across diverse sectors and markets, guided by prudent risk management practices.
“These impressive 2021Q1 results reflect the capacity of our business to sustainably grow earnings even in a highly uncertain macroeconomic environment.
“We remain upbeat on the macroeconomic outlook of the countries in which we operate, especially as the COVID-19 vaccine distribution gains traction globally, whilst commodity prices and currencies continue to stabilise.
“Our robust capital and liquidity positions have positioned us to continue to support our customers across diverse sectors and markets, guided by prudent risk management practices,” the GMD said.
He pointed out the bank’s effort towards diligently executing its priorities for the year 2021, as it leverages people, process, and technology to deliver the best customer experience across all its channels and touchpoints, achieving industry leadership and dominance.
Mr Uzoka noted that, “The bank is making strong progress in Nigeria where our continuous market share and efficiency gains are translating into higher profits.
“We are committed to sustaining this strong start throughout the year, leveraging our customer-First (C-1st) philosophy and unparalleled execution to deliver even stronger returns to our esteemed shareholders in 2021 and beyond.”
In his remarks, the Chief Finance Officer of UBA, Mr Ugo Nwaghodoh, said, “I am particularly pleased with our annualised return on average equity of 20.5 per cent and return on average asset of 2.0 per cent, as these indices buttress our commitment to delivering sustainable value to our stakeholders.
“We continued to deploy our balance sheet efficiency and digital-led cost optimisation initiatives to achieve desired outcomes as cost-to-income ratio improved by 200bps to 60.4 per cent during the period, whilst the cost of funds settled at 2.0 per cent, a 130bps reduction from 3.3 per cent in 2020Q1.”
Mr Nwaghodoh expressed confidence that the bank will meet and surpass its target for the remaining three quarters of the year, adding that, “We are confident on the strong prospect for earnings growth, particularly as we are better positioned to consolidate recent market share gains in Nigeria and other geographies where we operate. This result is a strong start for the year, and we are optimistic about sustaining the exciting performance throughout the year and beyond.”
Modupe Gbadeyanka 
Aduragbemi Omiyale