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UBA Shareholders To Get 150% Dividends Increase In FY2023 – Alawuba

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United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc says that in line with the Group’s culture of paying both interim and final cash dividends, the Board has approved an interim dividend of 50k per share, which represents over 150 percent increase over the financial year 2022 .

UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Oliver Alawuba, who made this known said, said that the dividends increase is as a result of the exceptional performance recorded by the bank during the first half year ended 2023.

Alawuba said: “The Group recorded strong double-digit growth in revenues and profits from its operations, and this underscored the Group’s commitment to consistently deliver value to its shareholders.”


A look at the bank’s financials showed that it recorded a profit before tax (PBT) of N404 billion for the half year ended June 30, 2023.

The PBT represents an extraordinary increase of 371 per cent, when compared to N85.75 billion recorded in the first half of 2022.

The increment translated to an annualised Return on Average Equity of 57.7 per cent as against 17.1 per cent a year earlier.

Profit After Tax N378.24bn
The results also showed a profit after tax (PAT) of N378.24 billion, representing a leap of 437.8 per cent over H1 2022.

Operating Income grew by 206.6 per cent to N783.96 billion in June 2023; higher than N255.67 billion reported a year earlier.

The Group delivered a 164 per cent growth in its Gross Earnings which rose to N981.78 billion as at June 2023, up from N372.36 billion recorded last year in June 2022.

Equally, the bank’s total assets continued a strong upward trajectory, rising above the N15 trillion mark, as it hits N15.38 trillion, representing a 41.7 per cent leap up from N10.86 trillion recorded at the end of last year.

Customer Deposits also rose by a sharp 42.4 per cent to N11.14 trillion in the period under consideration; as against N7.8 trillion recorded at the end of 2022.
N1.7 Trillion Shareholders Fund
The Group’s shareholders’ funds stood at N1.7 trillion, with a capital adequacy ratio of 36.4%”.

Alawuba added that the Group made progress in digital payments, retail penetration and also benefitted from the effect of revaluation gains, arising from the harmonization of foreign exchange rates at the different access windows in Nigeria.

Harmonization of Currency Exchange Rates
He said that the result also reflects the effect of sizeable revaluation gains, arising from the harmonization of currency exchange rates in Nigeria.

Our reporting currency found a new exchange level at about N756 to $1 as of 30 June 2023, compared to N465 at the beginning of the year.

The results again demonstrate the benefits of our long-held diversification strategy across Africa and globally. 

The growth of our international business, most recently in the UAE, only reinforces this earnings quality.

UBA’s Executive Director, Finance and Risk, Ugo Nwaghodoh, said the half year 2023 financial numbers reflect an excellent performance across key metrics, as the bank diligently executes its strategic priorities.

Our Priorities For The Year
“Our HY2023 financial numbers reflect excellent performance across key metrics, as we diligently execute our priorities for the year.
Annualized return on average equity at 57.7% was bolstered by improved operating income and revaluation gains,” he explained.

Nwaghodoh also pointed out that the Group maintains robust capital buffers to support business growth and loss absorbency.

Business

MTN Group says it’s under US investigation

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South African mobile operator MTN Group said Monday it was under US investigation over its activities in Iran and Afghanistan, at a time of icy ties between Washington and Pretoria.

Africa’s biggest telecoms company is already facing court challenges in South Africa by Turkey’s Turkcell, which accuses it of winning the Iranian market through corruption.

In 2006, MTN was chosen over Turkcell to become the 49 percent minority shareholder in Iranian government-controlled mobile phone carrier Irancell.

MTN had been made aware of a US Department of Justice (DoJ) grand jury investigation relating to its former subsidiary in Afghanistan and Irancell, the company said in a statement.

“MTN is cooperating with the DoJ and voluntarily responding to requests for information,” said the statement accompanying the group’s financial results.

Grand juries typically decide whether or not to formally lay charges in a case and take it to trial.

The South African multinational is also facing a court case in the United States from US veterans wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as relatives of soldiers killed in action, the statement said.

“The plaintiffs’ complaints allege that MTN supported anti-American militias in Iraq and Afghanistan .

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Business

UBA Secures N5bn BoI MSME fund for disbursement to key sectors

The facility provides a maximum loan amount of N5 million per obligor, with a three-month moratorium on principal repayments, ensuring businesses have ample time to stabilise before they begin to service the loans.

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•GMD/CEO UBA), Oliver Alawuba.

United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has secured a N5 billion loan facility from the Bank of Industry (BOI), to boost key sectors of the economy and support the growth of sustainable and viable businesses in the country, especially the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) owned by women.

The facility disbursed through the Federal Government’s MSME Fund, is designed to stimulate key sectors of the economy, while offering affordable financing to support businesses, with a primary focus on Green Energy, Education, Healthcare, and Women-Owned Enterprises.

UBA’s Group Managing Director/CEO, Oliver Alawuba, who spoke about the facility emphasised the bank’s commitment to fostering economic growth by empowering MSMEs, which he described as the “livewire of any developing economy.

He said, “At UBA, we recognize the pivotal role MSMEs play in driving economic development, and how they make up a sizeable portion of what drives our economic growth.

It is in this vein that we have decided not to rest on our oars by facilitating initiatives dedicated to empowering businesses with the financial support they need to thrive.”

Alawuba maintained that, “by offering loans at a competitive 9% interest rate with a three-year tenor, we are removing the traditional barriers that hinder SME growth in Nigeria and Africa. And by this, our message to business owners is simple: Don’t let this once-in-a lifetime-opportunity elude you.

”The facility provides a maximum loan amount of N5 million per obligor, with a three-month moratorium on principal repayments, ensuring businesses have ample time to stabilise before they begin to service the loans.

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Business

CPPE Proposes Policy Action to Reduce Food Prices

Dr Muda Yusuf, the Director/CEO of CPPE, noted that while progress has been made in moderating headline and core inflation, the persistence of food and month-on-month price increases highlights unresolved structural weaknesses.

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The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) says that a coordinated mix of monetary, fiscal, and structural interventions will be required by the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the Ministry of Finance to consolidate recent drops in inflation and steer the economy toward sustained stability.

CPPE suggested in reaction to the July 2025 inflation reported by the NBS

The headline inflation declined for the fourth consecutive month, easing from 22.22% in June to 21.88% in July, a deceleration of 0.34%Month-on-month food inflation also moderated, falling from 3.25% in June to 3.12% in July, while core inflation posted marginal declines year-on-year (-0.03%) and a sharp slowdown month-on-month, from 3.46% to 0.97%.

Dr Muda Yusuf, the Director/CEO of CPPE, noted that while progress has been made in moderating headline and core inflation, the persistence of food and month-on-month price increases highlights unresolved structural weaknesses.

“The July 2025 inflation figures present a mixed outlook for the Nigerian economy, with notable improvements in key indicators but lingering risks that demand policy attention,” he said.

These developments reflect a gradually stabilising macroeconomic environment, supported by exchange rate stability, improved investor confidence, and the lingering impact of import duty waivers on key staples such as rice, maize, and sorghum.

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