Posted by By CHIDI OBINECHE on
The Nigerian stock market was agog last Friday following the release of the six months audited results of United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), West Africa's largest financial services group.
•Gross earnings hit N78.1bn
The Nigerian stock market was agog last Friday following the release of the six months audited results of United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), West Africa's largest financial services group.
In an unusual occurrence, stock brokers and analysts applauded with a spontaneous standing ovation as the UBA delegation, led by Mrs Aidevo Odu-Thomas, Company Secretary, announced the results for the half year ended 31st March 2008 on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
The half year results indicate that UBA grossed N78.1bn in earnings, representing a 67 percent increase over the N46.8bn recorded in the same period last financial year. Meanwhile, profit soared by a whopping 86 per cent from N11.7bn recorded last year to an impressive N21.8bn this half year.
In an unprecedented move, Directors of UBA have proposed a bonus of one new share for every two held by shareholders and an interim dividend of 25kobo per 50kobo ordinary share.
Already, regarded as one of the star performers on the NSE, the market responded positively to the news, pushing the bank's share price to N60.90 from an opening price of N58.00 (a gain of N2.90k) on account of increased demand for UBA shares. UBA has continued to post superlative financial performance at every turn, maintaining the trend from its 2007 financial results which saw the bank emerge as not just the biggest but also the most profitable bank in Nigeria with a profit of N30bn.
Commenting on the results, Executive Director and Group Chief Finance Officer, Mr. Victor Osadolor, said the performance was the outcome of an increase in return on assets and an improvement in staff productivity. 'Increased efficiency in the system has resulted in a remarkable improvement in staff productivity by about 142 per cent," he asserted. He was also optimistic that the trend would be sustained for the remaining period of the 2008 financial year.
Managing Director, GTI Capital Ltd, Mr. Abubakar Lawal, a stock broker and independent financial analyst, remarked that UBA continued to dispel the myth that big cannot be efficient by churning out this impressive half year performance.
Lawal predicts an increased activity on the bank shares in the weeks and months to come, speculating that more people will be bound to mobilise resources to increase their stakes, to enable them benefit from the bank's growing fortunes.