Banking Briefs
UNITY Bank Plc has announced gross earnings of N44.59 billion for its 2019 financial year. The earnings increased from N34.65 billion it recorded in 2018.
The audited 2019 full-year results made available on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, showed that the bank recorded a profit before tax of N3.64 billion, while profit after tax closed at N3.38 billion. Its net operating income for the year under review rose by 76.39 percent to N23.211 billion, up from N13.159 billion in the corresponding period of 2018.
Furthermore, net interest income also grew by 18.06 percent to N16.493 billion, from N13.970 billion the previous year. This is even as the bank’s total asset saw a 71.93 percent increase to close at N293.052 billion, from N210.80 billion in the corresponding period of 2018.
In addition, the retail lender also recorded a total comprehensive income of N5.52 billion while earnings per share stood at 28.94 kobo. The result further showed that the bank grew its loan books by 135.87 percent to N104.02 billion in 2019 as against the N44.10 billion realised in 2018.
The bank had embarked on cost minimisation initiatives that have continued to yield positive results. These led to a decrease in its total operating expenses to N19.57 billion in 2019, from N20.71 billion in 2018.
The bank stated that it would continue to implement measures aimed at building processes that attract efficiency gains in resource allocation in order to boost profitability and bring more value to shareholders.
Commenting on the results, Tomi Somefun, managing director, Unity Bank, said: “The potential in many aspects of the business as reflected in growing balance sheet of the bank is indicative of market confidence in our repositioning efforts. It is also noteworthy that playing in the agriculture sector as part of growth strategy and as bulwarks to drive value chain businesses in many segments of the retail market has continued to pay off.
“Looking ahead, we shall consolidate on the gains in the agribusiness, capitalising on the growing profile in the sector, whilst also focusing on the youth market with increased investment in technology. The quest to deepen our retail play will go hand in hand with our focus on digital innovations. Already, we have deployed USSD banking, carried out augmentation of the platform to introduce local languages and further drive financial inclusion and had also launched omnichannel to cater to all segments of the banking public, especially the under-banked.
“In the coming years, the Bank will be opening more channels and bundled products bouquet for identified cluster initiatives and also leverage and expand relationships with other partners to drive more growth in earnings and profits,” she said.
– Jun. 12, 2020 @ 16:22 GMT |
Tags: Unity Bank posts N44.59bn gross earnings for 2019
