United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) has announced an interim dividend of N0.17 for every ordinary share of 50 kobo each, which subject to applicable withholding tax, will be paid to shareholders whose names appear in the register of members as at the close of business on Tuesday, September 15, 2020.
While payment date is Wednesday September 23, 2020, this coming amidst the ravaging global Covid-19 Pandemic. Other details of the audited results for the half year ended June 2020, showed that the pan-African bank recorded profit after tax of N44.431 billion, compared with the N56.7 billion it realised in the comparable period of 2019.
The results also revealed that the UBA Group recorded profit before tax of N57.1 billion as of the period under review, as against the N70.3 billion it garnered as of June 2019. The development was clearly a reflection of the impact of the Covid-19 which disrupted economic activities in Nigeria, other African countries where the bank has its subsidiaries as well as the global economy, in the second quarter of 2020.
However, UBA’s operating income improved by 7.7 per cent to N197.1 billion in the review period, as against the N182.9 billion it made last year. The bank’s gross earnings also grew to N300.2 billion, compared with the N294 billion it made in the comparable period of 2019.
In the review period, its total loans to customers grew by 6.1 per cent to N2.186 trillion, as against the N2.061 trillion recorded last year, just as its deposits from customers increased significantly by 25.2 per cent, from N3.832 trillion last year, to N4.8 trillion.
The UBA Group’s total asset as at first half of 2020 was N6.8 trillion, as against the N5.8 trillion it was in the comparable period of last year, while net interest income grew by 8.4 per cent to N119.3 billion.
