Business

Half Year 2024: UBA Posts N1.37trn Gross Earnings as Customers Deposits Hit N23.2 trn

Published

2 years ago

September 30, 2024

OCHEFA

475 Views

▪︎UBA’s GMD, Mr Oliver Alawuba

The United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has released its audited financial results for the half year ended June 30, 2024.

Here are the highlights of its financial performances for the half year: “UBA Grows Earnings by 40% to N1.37 trillion, declares interim dividend of N2.00 Per Share.
Total Assets up by 37.2% to N28.3 trillion
Customer Deposits hits N23.2 trillion, climbs 34%. Makes Profit Before Tax of N401.6 billion.”

The audited financials released to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Monday, showed that the bank recorded double-digit growth in its gross earnings and operating incomes.

At the end of the first two quarters of the year, and despite the tough global macroeconomic climate in Nigeria as well as the geo-political environment challenges across major countries in Africa where the bank has subsidiaries, UBA recorded a 39.6 per cent increase in its gross earnings, which rose from N981.77 billion in 2023 to N1.371 trillion in June 2024.

In line with the bank’s culture of paying both interim and final cash dividend, the Board of Directors of UBA Plc has declared an interim dividend of N2.00 per share for every ordinary share of N0.50 each held by its shareholders.

Further, interest income increased by 134.3 per cent to N1.003 trillion up from N428.2 billion recorded in June last year, while total assets went up by 37.2 per cent from N20.6 trillion in December 2023 to close at N28.3 trillion. Customer deposits, also leapt by 33.7 per cent in the same period to close at N23.2 trillion up from N17.3 trillion recorded at the end of 2023.

The results filed showed that profit before tax(PBT) which stood at N403 billion in June 2023, closed the half year at N402 billion, while profit after tax (PAT) dropped slightly from N378 billion to N316 billion in the year under consideration.

However, the banks’ shareholders funds increased by 47 per cent from N2.03 trillion in December 2023, to N2.99 trillion.

In line with the bank’s culture of paying both interim and final cash dividend, the Board of Directors of UBA Plc has declared an interim dividend of N2.00 per share for every ordinary share of N0.50 each held by its shareholders.

This represents a 300 per cent increase compared to the N0.50 declared in the similar period of 2023.

Commenting on the results, UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Oliver Alawuba, said that the results underscored the bank’s commitment to consistently deliver value to its shareholders.

He said, “UBA Group has continued to deliver strong double-digit growth in high quality and sustainable banking revenue streams, driven by a focused growth in balance sheet, transaction and digital banking businesses across geographies in line with our strategic goals.”

The GMD said: “The Group’s performance has been buoyed by consistent strong growth in all core and sustainable banking income lines.

Our intermediation business showed strong growth with net interest income expanding by 143% YoY to N675billion”.

Regarding the bank’s other plans for the rest of the year, Alawuba said, “As the Group intensifies its customer acquisition drive, we are making significant investments in technology, data analytics, product research and innovation to enhance our value proposition and customer experience.”

The Executive Director Finance & Risk, Ugo Nwaghodoh, expressed delight at the milestone achieved by the bank in driving operational efficiency, as reflected in cost-to-income ratio normalizing around the 50% range.

He said: “Our cost optimization provides scope for further moderation, as we explore options towards a drastic reduction of our foreign currency denominated cost components, robotizing and automation of processes and application of artificial intelligence to our operations”

He disclosed that the Group will focus on effectively managing the heightened credit, operational, cyber and information security risks, as it continues to conduct its business within the tenets of our moderate risk appetite in alignment with our sustainability goals.

“The Group has made significant progress and is on course to shore up its share capital to support its medium to long term aspirations, whilst aligning with the recent regulatory requirement in Nigeria and other jurisdictions. that we operate in,” said Nwaghodoh.

35 Million Customers
United Bank for Africa Plc is a leading Pan-African financial institution, offering banking services to more than thirty-five million customers, across 1,000 business offices and customer touch points in 20 African countries.

With presence in New York, London, Paris and Dubai, UBA is connecting people and businesses across Africa through retail, commercial and corporate banking, innovative cross-border payments and remittances, trade finance and ancillary banking services.▪︎

Business

Naira Exchange Rates To Dollar, Pound, Euro…Wednesday, 16 September 2026

How much is 100 pounds in naira today?
At the current black market rate of 1880 per pound, 100 British Pounds = 188,000 Naira

Published

2 hours ago

September 16, 2026

OCHEFA

14 Views

BLACK MARKET RATE

1 US Dollar is 1380 Naira.

1 Great British Pound (GBP) is 1880 Naira.

1 Euro (EUR) is 1575 Naira.

1 Canadian Dollar (CAD) is 1000 Naira.

1 Chinese Yuan is 190 Naira.

1 Ghanaian Cedi is 100 Naira.

1 South African Currency, Rand (ZAR) is 70 Naira.

1 UAE Dirham is 370 Naira.

1 CFA Franc (XOF) is 2350 Naira.

1 CFA Franc (XAF) is 2250 Naira.

1 Australian Dollar (AUD) is 850 Naira.

CBN Exchange Rate

DOLLAR (USD) ₦1329.15

POUND (GBP) ₦1793.69

EURO (EUR) ₦1534.77

SWISS FRANC (CHF) ₦1622.69

JAPANESE YEN (JPN) ₦8.5

CFA FRANC (XOF) ₦2.33

WEST AFRICAN UNIT OF ACCOUNT (WAUA) ₦1811.58

CHINESE YUAN (CNY)₦198.03

SAUDI RIYAL (SAR)₦353.85

SOUTH AFRICAN RAND (ZAR)₦81.79

Business

Textiles was my biggest business mistake — Dangote

Dangote disclosed that almost 8,000 workers were laid off across the textile business, with 6,920 of them coming from Nigerian Textile Mills in Ikeja alone.

Published

17 hours ago

September 15, 2026

OCHEFA

28 Views

•Aliko Dangote

President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has described his investment in the textile industry as the biggest business mistake of his decades in business.

Dangote made the disclosure during an appearance on Arise Television, where he reflected on some of the challenges he encountered while building his business empire.

Dangote’s comments come amid ongoing concerns over the survival of local manufacturing industries and the impact of imported goods on domestic production and employment.

“My biggest business mistake was textiles,” he said.

According to the industrialist, the textile business eventually collapsed due to inadequate policy protection and what he described as dumping by foreign manufacturers.

“We were swamped by Chinese dumping and Indian dumping. So eventually we had to close down,” Dangote said.

He said the closure had a significant impact on workers, particularly employees of Nigerian Textile Mills in Ikeja, Lagos.

Dangote disclosed that almost 8,000 workers were laid off across the textile business, with 6,920 of them coming from Nigerian Textile Mills in Ikeja alone.

He said the experience shaped his approach to subsequent investments, stressing the need to ensure that businesses remain viable even when government protection is eventually withdrawn.

Business

Dangote: Africa Is Like a ‘Scratch Card’ — Opportunities Are Immense

Dangote’s message, therefore, extends beyond the refinery itself: Africa’s opportunities will remain invisible unless capital is deployed to “scratch” the surface and turn potential into productive assets.

Published

21 hours ago

September 15, 2026

OCHEFA

34 Views

| map of Africa by Wikipedia

By Ochefa

Africa is sitting on enormous economic opportunities that remain largely untapped, President and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Industries Limited, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has declared.

Dangote likened the continent to a “scratch card”, saying its vast opportunities would only become visible when Africans and investors take deliberate steps to unlock them.

“Africa is like a scratch card. Unless you scratch it, you don’t see the use of it. The opportunities are immense,” Dangote said.

He spoke in Lagos during the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals “Facts Behind the Offer” presentation and opening gong ceremony, held to mark the formal opening of the refinery’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).

The offer comprises 4.1 billion new ordinary shares at ₦525 per share, giving the issue a value of about ₦2.15 trillion, with a minimum subscription of 10 shares valued at ₦5,250. The offer is scheduled to close on October 13, 2026, subject to the terms contained in the prospectus.

Dangote said the group was looking beyond Nigeria as it seeks to expand its industrial footprint across Africa, disclosing plans being explored for the establishment of a refinery in Lamu, Kenya.

The move, he said, reflects the need to build African businesses capable of attracting large-scale international capital while creating greater economic integration across the continent.

According to him, the Dangote Group’s expansion strategy is not simply about building individual businesses, but about creating platforms through which Africans and international investors can participate in the continent’s economic transformation.

“What we are trying to do is to open up the market and make sure that when we open up the market, Africans and non-Africans will join us to have what you call the new Africa rising,” he said.

The refinery IPO represents a major test of Nigeria’s ability to mobilise domestic and international capital behind large-scale industrial projects.

Dangote urged Nigerians and other Africans to seize the opportunity presented by the offer, arguing that the refinery has the potential to become Africa’s largest company by the end of 2026.

His “scratch card” analogy captures the central argument behind the expansion strategy: Africa’s economic potential may be enormous, but unlocking it requires capital, infrastructure, industrial investment and businesses willing to take long-term risks.

For Nigeria, the refinery’s public offering also signals a potentially significant shift in the ownership structure of one of the country’s biggest industrial assets—from a project largely associated with one private investor to an enterprise in which a broader pool of investors can participate.

The development comes as Nigeria seeks to deepen its capital market, retain more domestic savings within the economy and mobilise long-term funding for productive investment.