UBA Grows Profit by 33% to N190bn in Q1-2025
Starting the year stronger, Pan African lender UBA Plc grew profit by 33% year on year to about N190 billion in the first quarter of 2025, the group’s unaudited financial statement showed.
The financial services group’s earnings jump was underpinned by impressive growth across its core and non-core income lines, a detailed review of its unaudited financial scorecard revealed.
The group recorded a 36.1% year-on-year growth in interest income to N599.83 billion, supported by the still elevated yields amid an increase in the group’s earning assets, up by +3.1% to N26.26 trillion from the beginning of the year to date.
In Q1, UBA recorded higher income from investment securities, loans to customers’ placement with banks, and loans to banks. Income from investment securities jumped by 45% to N291.86 billion in the first quarter of the year, while loans to customers grew by 17.4% to N229.35 billion.
Income from placement with other banks surged by 17.4% to N229.35 billion, and interest earned from loans to other banks soared by about 771% to N31.20 billion. In the period, UBA recorded a 77.0% year-on-year growth in interest expense, settling at N247.96 billion, as the high interest rates also resulted in higher funding costs.
Further supporting earnings, non-interest income advanced during the period by 44.2% year on year to N112.36 billion. This was driven majorly by gains from net fees and commission income, up by 15.7% to N71.96 billion, and investment securities.
These offset 21% drop in FX trading and FX revaluation gains. Consequently, operating income rose by 19.9% year on year to N450.06 billion. The results revealed that UBA operating expenses grew by 12.3% year-on-year to N245.79 billion, triggered by increasing regulatory costs and persistent inflationary pressures.
Personnel expenses surged by +27.2% year on year to N84.32 billion, AMCON climbed by 28.4% year on year to N22.94 billion, and NDIC premium climbed by +19.2% y/y to NGN12.83 billion.
Nonetheless, given that the group’s operating income grew faster than the operating expenses, the cost-to-income ratio settled lower at 54.6% from 58.3% in the comparable period in 2024.
Overall, profit before tax grew by 30.7% year on year to N204.27 billion, while profit after tax expanded by 33.1% to N189.84 billion following a 4.8% year-on-year increase in income tax expense. #UBA Grows Profit by 33% to N190bn in Q1-2025 FG Reforms to Drive Long-Term Economic Resilience – Edun
