By InvestAdvocate

Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) Tuesday posted a 162 percent (162%) increase in Profit After Tax (PAT) in its Second Quarter (Q2) Report for the Period Ended June 30 2012.

This is contained in the Q2 Unaudited Results of the Bank released on the Floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in Lagos Nigeria and made available to www.investadvocateng.com.

To record the increase in PAT, UBA declared N27.066 billion in its Q2 Report for the Period Ended June 30 2012 compared to N10.300 billion recorded in the same period of year 2011; indicating an increase of 162% in the review period.

Profit Before Income Tax also grew from N12.295 billion in the Q2 Report of year 2011 compared to N31.842 billion in the Q2 2012 Unaudited Report of the Bank; showing a growth of 159%.

Gross Earnings increased from N91.267 billion in Q2 of 2011 compared to N111.004 billion declared in the same period of year 2012; representing an increase of 21.6%.

A Statement on Tuesday by Charles Aigbe Divisional Head, Marketing and Corporate Relations UBA Plc and made available to www.investadvocateng.com, further affirmed that UBA posted an operating income of N80.567 billion, indicating an increase of 16.9% from N68.944 billion recorded in the same period of 2011.

Similarly, the Bank’s Total Assets grew by 5.1% from N1.946 trillion in 2011 to N2.044 trillion as at June 30, 2012. In addition, the Net Loan Portfolio increased to N734.4billion, compared with N690.4billion in June 2011, an increase of 6.4%.

Phillips Oduoza, the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, (GMD/CEO) of UBA, said the Bank’s expansion into Africa had reached a consolidation stage and the management of UBA had shifted its focus from expansion, to maximizing the investment in its unique footprint. “What you have seen in the first half of the year, is a reflection of what our platform is capable of delivering” he said.

Oduoza further affirmed the Bank is pleased that despite the challenging environment, it is committed to delivering good returns to stakeholders. “Our ability to significantly and continuously grow profit and reduce costs is an indication of our promise and determination to deliver good returns to all stakeholders. Our focus remains on maximising returns through our valuable branch network, continually re-engineering our product offerings and most importantly delivering consistent service quality to clients across the continent”, Oduoza said.

This is coming on the heels of a N16 billion Profit Before Tax (PBT) in its First Quarter (Q1) Ended March 31 2012.

According to Analyst, the N16 billion Profit recorded in the review period surpassed the Bank’s Profit Forecast of N15.1 billion announced earlier in the year.

As earlier reported by www.investadvocateng.com, a Statement by the Bank on the Q1 Result 2012 affirmed that Cost to Income Ratio dropped to 65% from 77.7% in 2011 as the benefits of the Group’s Global Shared Services Centre and other Cost Control Measures kick in.

“With solid Capital Adequacy and Liquidity Ratios of 22.94% and 57.02% respectively, UBA capped the First Quarter performance on a strong note” the Statement said.

Ugo Nwaghodoh, Chief Finance Officer (CFO) of UBA while commenting on the Q1 Result of the Bank said the First Quarter Result reaffirms UBA’s strong earnings capacity. “The underlying fundamentals of our business remains very strong and we shall continue to optimise the Balance Sheet for even stronger earnings. This year will also see significant contributions from our expansive solid African franchise” Nwaghodoh said.

Meanwhile the Bank has in its 2011 Audited Year End rewarded shareholders with a 1 for 50 Bonus.