By Dipo Olowookere
Shareholders of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc have something sweet to savour as the board has increased the dividend payout for the 2021 financial year.
In a notice filed with the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday, the lender said it would pay 80 kobo as a final dividend for the accounting period, higher than the 35 kobo it paid the preceding year.
If this is approved by the shareholders at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) fixed for April 7, 2022, at the Congress Hall, Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja by 10.00 am, with the 20 kobo interim dividend earlier paid last year, the total cash reward would be N1, amounting to a payout ratio of 29 per cent versus 16 per cent in FY 2020 and a yield of 12.4 per cent.
Business Post reports that the dividend would be paid on the AGM day only to those whose names appear in the register of members as at the close of business on Friday, March 18, 2022, and have authorised the registrar to pay their dividends directly into their bank accounts.
Meanwhile, in FY 2021, UBA declared a profit before tax of N153.1 billion compared with the N127.3 billion achieved a year earlier, while the profit after tax grew to N118.7 billion from N109.2 billion, with the earnings per share (EPS) rising to N3.39 from N3.10.
In the results, the financial institution said it generated N474.3 billion as interest income, higher than the N427.9 billion it generated 12 months earlier, while the interest expense shrank to N157.6 billion from N168.4 billion, leaving the company with a net interest income of N316.7 billion in contrast to the N259.5 billion achieved in 2020.
Also, UBA said it closed December 31, 2021, with N303.9 billion as net interest income after impairment on financial and non-financial instruments, higher than the N232.5 billion reported a year earlier.
In the period under review, the company generated N158.7 billion as fees and commission income, higher than N126.9 billion it posted in the previous accounting year, while the fees and commission expense rose to N57.8 billion from N44.3 billion in FY 2020. However, the net fee and commission income closed higher at N100.9 billion as against N82.6 billion of the preceding reporting year.
It was observed that UBA recorded a lower income from net trading and foreign exchange as this stood at N16.4 billion in contrast to N54.9 billion a year ago, while other operating income rose to N9.0 billion from N6.1 billion.
The results also showed that employee benefits expenses gulped N93.2 billion versus N87.6 billion in FY 2020, while other operating costs increased to N163.0 billion from N142.3 billion.
In the year, UBA expanded its deposits from customers to N6.4 trillion from N5.7 trillion, while loans and advances to customers rose to N2.7 trillion from N2.6 trillion.
