UBA Shareholders Hail Payment of N27.2bn Dividend

 MARKET NEWS

The shareholders of the pan-African financial institution, the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, last Friday commended the board, management and staff over the improved performance of the bank that led to a payment of total dividend of N27.2 billion.

UBA had paid an interim dividend of N7.3 billion for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and a final dividend of N19.9 billion for the year ended December 31, 2016, bringing  the total dividend for the year to N27.2 billion.

Speaking at the  55^th annual general meeting (AGM) of the bank in Lagos,  the shareholders  commended the company and approved the  dividend, which translate to 75 kobo per share compared to 60 kobo paid the previous year.

The shareholders were excited at the performance of the group,  which showed an impressive 22 per cent  growth in gross earnings and  32 per cent  growth in profit to N91 billion.

The shareholders were pleased that the African subsidiaries contributed 32 per cent to  the group’s profit in 2016, a development they said emphasizes earnings diversification across geographies which reduces the group’s vulnerability to macroeconomic pressures in any single market.

For instance, the  President of the Association for the Advancement of the Rights of Nigerian Shareholders, Alhaji Farouk Umar, said: “It is obvious from the faces of shareholders that all of us are happy with the performance of the bank. We did not expect anything less because we know that that our chairman is an achiever not only locally but also internationally. We have seen the African expansion and its contribution to our earnings and I believe this is also commendable.”

In his address, the  Group Chairman, UBA Plc, Mr. Tony Elumelu, gave credit to the chairpersons of UBA subsidiary boards across Africa, saying “these hard working men and women, who chair the boards across our businesses in Africa, have helped contribute a third of the overall profit of the group. I believe they deserve commendation. They are strengthening UBA brand across Africa, in line with our aspiration.”

Elumelu also   said he was particularly pleased with the bank’s new CEO, Kennedy Uzoka.

“At the board level, we are extremely pleased by the financial performance that Kennedy and his team delivered in 2016. Kennedy and his team prioritize the customer and they are diligently executing the Customer First project, which the board believes will sustainably enhance the performance of the group,”  Elumelu said.