Union Bank of Nigeria Plc (UBN) has announced its unaudited financial statements for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 recording 12 per cent growth in pretax profit. According to the Q1 report released to the Nigerian Exchange Limited, the lender’s profit before tax went up by 12 per cent to N6.9 billion from N6.2 billion reported in Q1’20 driven by higher non-interest income and lower operating expenses. Gross earnings was down 15 per cent to N36.4 billion as against N42.6 billion in Q1’20 driven by lower interest environment in the Nigeria financial sector. Net operating income after impairments was relatively flat at N24.3 billion as against N24.2 billion in Q1’20. Non-interest income was up 10 per cent to N14.1 billion from N12.9 billion in Q1’20; driven by successful debt recovery efforts. Operating expenses was down four per cent to N17.3 billion from N18 billion in Q1’20; an outcome of sustained cost optimisation efforts. Commenting on the results, Emeka Okonkwo, CEO, said: “ I am pleased to be able to provide the first set of quarterly results under my tenure as CEO following a smooth transition in leadership. “Despite the challenging economic climate, our bank has maintained a steady performance that we can build on for the rest of the year. “The bank has responded well to the challenges in the market since the onset of the pandemic. Our overall efforts in Q1 delivered a 12 per cent growth in PBT.
