This year marks a defining chapter for us at UBA – celebrating a landmark anniversary, superlative financial results, and remarkable impact across Africa and beyond.
Earlier this week, we formally announced the kick-off of our 75th anniversary celebrations and recognition of the numerous innovations pioneered by UBA.
Today, at the 62nd UBA Annual General Meeting with UBA Board members, shareholders, and members of the public in attendance, I was delighted to present the company’s financial performance for the financial year ended 2023 while highlighting UBA Group’s impact-driven achievements.
UBA delivered another very strong year, generating Gross revenue of N2.08TR and Profit after Tax (PAT) of N607.7 billion. We successfully sustained our deposit mobilisation efforts, growing total deposits 100% from N9TR, to N18TR in the corresponding year.
Now the icing on the cake – the one thing every shareholder looks out for at the end of the financial year – juicy dividend payouts.
Only a few years ago, I promised the shareholders that we would move from paying kobo dividends to Naira dividends – I am pleased to announce we have kept that promise.
Our shareholders will receive a total of N78.7 billion for FY 2023, translating to N2.30 per ordinary share. Combined with an interim dividend of N0.50 per share paid for the first half of 2023, UBA will have paid a total dividend of N2.80 per share, amounting to N95.8 billion.
As true Africapitalists, we take pride in running businesses that not only perform well but also do good.
Beyond our impressive balance sheet figures, we achieved significant impact driven milestones over the past year:
1. Leveraging our African footprint, and in partnership with the African Continental Free Trade Area, we pledged up to USD 6 billion in financing Small & Medium Scale Enterprises across 20 African countries over the next 3 years. This game-changing investment targets 4 key sectors: Agro-
processing, Automotive sector, Pharmaceuticals, and Transport & Logistics – crucial and pivotal for reducing import dependency and fostering intraAfrica trade.
2. UBA continued to invest in our youth through the UBA Graduate Management Accelerated Program (GMAP). In the past 1 year, this programme has trained equipped, and employed 1,100 young Africans, allowing them to succeed and enjoy world-class career progression at UBA.This is a very important achievement by UBA and more for our young ones, because we believe that youth unemployment and joblessness is a betrayal of a generation. We believe that the future of Africa lies in the hands of our young ones and the UBA GMAP program is a demonstration of this belief.
3. UBA received 9 prestigious awards at the Bankers Awards in 2023, an award organised by Bankers’ Magazine, a publication of the Financial Times of London.
4. UBA won the 2023 Bank of the Year Africa Award. Additionally, 7 UBA subsidiaries: UBA Cameroun, UBA Chad, UBA Ghana, UBA Coted’Ivoire, UBA Mozambique, UBA Congo, UBA Sierra Leone & UBA Tanzania, emerged as the Bank of the Year in their respective operating countries.
All these feats reaffirm our position as the leading financial institution on the African continent and underscores UBA’s dominance and impact across diverse African markets.
My deepest gratitude goes to our management and staff. Your commitment to exemplary service and dedication ensures that we deliver shared value with every interaction.
To our impeccable boards across all the 24 countries and 4 continents, we operate in, both at the group and subsidiary level, I extend my gratitude for your insightful counsel and unwavering leadership.
To our loyal customers, you are the reason we exist, we are eternally grateful for your trust and continued patronage- the aspiration to exceed your needs fuels our drive for innovation and excellence.
