UBA targets 20% RoAE in 2023 FY
Given its business expansion targets, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, yesterday said it aimed to achieve a 20 per cent Return on Average Equity (RoAE) in the 2023 financial year.
The Pan-African Bank in 2022 financial year reported 19.7 per cent RoAE from 18 per cent projection.
The Group reported Profit Before Tax (PBT) that stood at N201billion in 2022, an increase of 31.2 per cent from N153billion in 2021, while Profit After Tax (PAT) increased to N170billion in 2022 from N119 billion reported in 2021.
It delivered gross earnings of N853 billion, up 29.2per cent on the prior year. As a result, we recorded an operating income of N591 billion, representing an increase of 33.6per cent from N443 billion in 2021.
Speaking on the targets for this year, the Group Managing Director/CEO, UBA, Mr. Oliver Alawuba during the Bank’s virtual “audited 2022 results conference call”, said despite the global headwinds across all markets, the management and staff are committed to doing more this year by driving up revenues across all major business segments, coupled with the relentless pursuit of efficiency Group-wide.
He assured that Bank would continue to proactively respond to issues in an innovative and ethical manner that tends to create value for all stakeholders.
He said the new executive management team has swung into action and revalidated its aspiration to become a leading financial institution in Nigeria, lead in Africa and ranked amongst the three most profitable Banks and a Systemically Important Bank (SIB) in all the countries in which it operates.
According to him, “We are positioned to take Africa to the world and bring the world to Africa through capital and investment funds flows.
“We also remain focused on simplifying trade and cross-border payment across the continent with UBA as one of the leading Banks championing the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), an AfCFTA agenda and brainchild of Afreximbank which is currently operating in six pilot countries in West Africa – Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, and Gambia.
“Collectively, we are committed to providing quality leadership, a conducive work environment for our workforce and excellent customer experience that will continually translate to improving the bottom-line and our shareholders’ value in the short, medium and long term.”
Speaking on 2022 performance, he said, “Despite volatile market conditions and many operational challenges, your Bank continued to deliver on key strengths built in the past years.”
He noted that with the overall objective of stimulating growth in the real sector, UBA grew its loan portfolio by N605 billion, or 21.4per cent, from the prior year.
“We continue to maintain a close focus on cost efficiency and strictly control operating expenses across the Group, including our new strategic investments. Consequently, our reported cost-to-income ratio stood at 59.1per cent.
“In terms of capital adequacy, UBA boasts an excellent capital position with a Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 28.3per cent – well above the regulatory requirement of 15per cent.
“We are committed to delivering improved performances in the years ahead,” Alawuba said.
On customer, he said “Our primary business strategy is to continue to focus on the Customer – the ‘Undimployer’, while leveraging the key pillars driving our Customer First (C1st) Philosophy i.e. People, Process and Technology, in delivering positive experiences across all our touchpoints – physical and virtual.
“In addition, our dedicated workforce (People) is very critical to us. We will constantly strive to simplify and streamline our processes, and ensure systems stability and reliable IT architecture to support our operations.
Going forward, he said, “we have harmonised our forward-looking commitments to drive excellent customer experience at all touchpoints, irrespective of the customer segment or delivery platform.
“Achieve top 3 ranking in a customer satisfaction survey, in all categories, in Nigeria and similar ranking in other subsidiaries; Always ensure zero tolerance to policy and regulatory infractions groupwide; Continue to focus on resolving all people-happiness related issues, including the deployment of new efficient Performance Management System to improve our reward management effectiveness and drive aggressive digital banking deployment and adoptio
