United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) has reported a significant increase in profit after tax to N189.8 billion for the first quarter of 2025, up from N142.6 billion in the same period last year

Pan-African financial institution, United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), has announced a robust growth in its profitability for the first quarter of 2025, recording a profit after tax of N189.8 billion. This represents a substantial increase compared to the N142.6 billion reported during the corresponding period in 2024.

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According to its Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for the three months ended March 31, 2025, UBA experienced a notable 36 percent surge in interest income, climbing to N599.8 billion from N440.8 billion in the first quarter of 2024.

A significant portion of this increase was attributed to interest income on amortised cost and fair value through other comprehensive income securities, which rose to N597.1 billion from N440.4 billion in the previous year.

During the period under review, the bank’s interest expense increased to N247.9 billion from N140.1 billion, resulting in a net interest income of N351.9 billion, an improvement from the N300.7 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2024.

Fees and commission income also witnessed positive growth, with UBA reporting N124.1 billion in Q1 2025, up from N113.7 billion in Q1 2024.

Fees and commission expenses remained relatively stable at N52.1 billion in 2025, compared to N51.5 billion in 2024. This resulted in a net fee and commission income of N72.0 billion, an increase from N62.2 billion in the previous year.

Furthermore, UBA demonstrated impressive growth in non-interest income, which rose by 44 percent from N77.9 billion in Q1 2024 to N112.4 billion in the current quarter.

This growth was primarily driven by strong performance in net trading and foreign exchange income, which reached N37.0 billion from N11.9 billion in 2024.

The bank’s operating income increased to N464.2 billion, marking a 22.7 percent rise from N378.6 billion in the same period last year. This positive performance was further supported by a reduction in the impairment charge for credit losses, which stood at N11.1 billion compared to N1.6 billion in 2024.

Operating expenses saw an increase, with UBA incurring N245.8 billion in total operating expenses, compared to N218.9 billion in the first quarter of 2024.

The most significant increases were in employee benefit expenses, which rose to N84.3 billion from N66.3 billion, and other operating expenses, which increased to N148.5 billion from N142.6 billion. Depreciation and amortization expenses also rose to N12.9 billion from N10.1 billion.

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Reflecting its profit growth, the bank’s total assets increased to N31.7 trillion in March 2025, compared to N30.3 trillion as of December 2024.

Key drivers of this asset growth were an increase in investment securities, which reached N13.1 trillion from N12.5 trillion in December 2024, while loans and advances to customers stood at N6.8 trillion, slightly down from N6.95 trillion in December 2024.

The bank’s total liabilities grew by N1.1 trillion to N28.0 trillion in March 2025 from N26.9 trillion at the end of 2024, mainly due to an increase in deposits from customers, which rose to N22.9 trillion from N21.9 trillion.

The bank’s equity also saw a boost, increasing to N3.7 trillion from N3.4 trillion in December 2024, largely driven by retained earnings, which stood at N1.6 trillion as of March 31, 2025.

The bank’s earnings per share improved to N5.35, up from N3.96 in Q1 2024, indicating strong profit growth.

UBA’s non-controlling interests contributed N6.8 billion in Q1 2025, slightly down from N7.0 billion in the same period last year. The total comprehensive income for the period was N256.5 billion, a decrease from N581.5 billion in 2024, primarily due to a decline in fair value changes of financial assets.

This impressive first-quarter performance builds on UBA’s strong financial year in 2024, where it reported a profit before tax of N803.73 billion, driven by solid core earnings and improved operational efficiency.