Unity Bank Plc


Unity Bank Plc was  Tuesday the next bank to announce its result for the third quarter (Q3) ended September 30, 2012, recording a growth of 52 per cent in profit after tax for the period.

Diamond Bank had penultimate week opened the earnings season for banks with an impressive growth in all performance indicators. Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc, Skye Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc have also released their results.

And yesterday was the turn of Unity Bank Plc, which announced gross earnings of N38.911 billion in Q3 of 2012, showing an increase of 27 per cent above the N30.74 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2011.

Gross profit rose by 47 per cent from N3.008 billion to N4.445 billion, while profit after tax recorded a higher growth of 52 per cent from N2.1 billion to N3.2 billion in 2012.

Analysing  the result the further,   analysts at  Cordros Capital Limited,  said profit after tax margin improved by 20 per cent year-on-year (yoy) following its surge to  N3.201 billion.

“The profitability increase reflected a very strong comparative period; benefitting from the general rise on yields of interest earnings assets.  The loan book was  higher at N178.060 billion, up 48.29 per cent  yoy. However, credit loss expense grew to N1.559 billion from N213.842 million in 2011But cash and cash equivalents came in higher at 63 per cent to N45.089 billion, while Net Assets remained flat at N47.348 billion,” they said.

Apart from Unity Bank, Presco Plc, a firm listed in the agriculture sub-sector of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), also reported its Q3, posting a revenue of N6.875 billion in 2012, as against N5.727 billion in 2011. Profit after tax stood at N1.886 billion in 2012, compared with N1.602 billion in 2011.

Meanwhile, trading at the stock market remained bearish as the NSE All-Share Index declined by 0.20 per cent to close at 27,217.27