Unity Bank gross earnings hit N22.87bn in 2020 H1

Unity Bank Plc has declared gross earnings of N22.87 billion for the half year ended June 30, 2020.

Mrs Tomi Somefun, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, stated this in the bank’s unaudited financials submitted to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday in Lagos.

Somefun said that the half-year gross earnings rose by 11 per cent to N22.87 billion from N20.55 billion in the corresponding period of 2019.

Profit before tax grew by seven per cent to N1.12 billion in the period under review from N1.05 billion achieved in the corresponding period of 2019.

Also, the Profit after tax, rose by seven per cent to N1.03 billion from N967.51 million in the corresponding period of 2019.

The half year results showed that the lender recorded gross earnings of N11.01 billion, a five per cent growth from the N10.50 billion recorded for the same period in 2019.

Similarly, the lender’s interest earnings recorded a 15 per cent increase to N19.79 billion within the period, from N17.27 billion in the corresponding period in 2019.

Its total operating income also grew by 14 per cent to N12.14 billion from N10.69 billion in the same period in 2019. Earnings per Share stood at 17.64 Kobo for the period ending June 30.

The Bank’s half-year report also showed a huge boost in asset, which saw a 48 per cent growth to N445.95 billion from N293.05 billion in the same period in 2019.

This follows the growth of the Bank’s loan book which rose by 53.7 per cent to N131.48 billion from N70.62 billion in Q2, 2019.

A further review of the H1 financial statement showed that the agribusiness-focused lender grew its deposit by 19 per cent to N306.47 billion from N257.69 billion as at December 2019.

Somefun said: “Despite the inclement economic conditions occasioned by the global pandemic which almost paused or at best put activities at a slower pace in virtually all sectors of the economy, the Bank has been able to ride the waves to maintain its growth trajectory looking at the key performance indicators.

“The assessment, therefore, is that the repositioning efforts which have taken root before the headwinds are equally able to withstand shocks.

“The growing health and strength of the Bank’s balance sheet is attributable to the fact that while the bank remained focused on its niche market, which is agribusiness, the bank has also continued to grow its brand franchise in many areas of the retail market by promoting and leveraging its agriculture value chain businesses as an offshoot,” she said.

The statement added that the views of analysts continued to reinforce the gains of the repositioning drive anchored on the agribusiness as the backbone for the steady growth and performance in the half-year 2020.

They share optimism for an even more positive outlook in the future, as market confidence continues to improve.