UBA nets Sh251m profit in Quarter 3

United Bank for Africa (UBA) Kenya has reported a net profit of Sh251.3 million for the nine months ending September 2020.

In the same period in 2019, the lender reported a profit of Sh116.8 million.

The profit growth was despite increasing loan loss provisions, which more than tripled from Sh52.1 million in a similar period last year to Sh160.8 million.

“The performance growth was largely driven by efficient management of the balance sheet as well as cost optimisation, amid challenging business operating environment,” said UBA in a statement.

The bank’s asset base also grew by 37 per cent from Sh16 million to Sh21.8 million. This was attributed to additional investments in fixed income securities.

Liabilities saw a marginal increase from 13.6 million in September 2019 to Sh19.3 million in 2020.

The loan book and deposits increased slightly by 10 per cent and 25 per cent, and the bank attributed this to “financial support given to our customers as they diversified their business during the pandemic”.

UBA Kenya acting chief executive Kehinde Omirinde said the bank had taken a strategic approach in the midst of Covid-19.

“The bank’s solid performance despite the outbreak of a global pandemic is a clear indicator of the effectiveness of our corporate contingency strategy,” he said.

“We shall endeavour to continue making strategic investments in product development and innovation, providing our customers with excellent service.”

The bank’s total income interest increased from Sh1.04 million to Sh1.26 million, while net interest income also increased by almost Sh200 million on the back of improving deposits.

However, total non-performing loans increased from Sh474.8 million to Sh809.2 million as Covid-19 hit borrowers.