Shareholders laud UBA’s performance

THE shareholders’ of United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) at the weekend, commended the company’s board for the 2014 performance and increasing value on investment through dividend payout and adherence to corporate governance principles, as they approved a dividend of N0.10 per share.

Speaking at the 53rd yearly general meeting in Lagos at the weekend, the National Chairman, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Boniface Okezie expressed satisfaction with the improved performance recorded by the bank during the year under review, as well as the state of affairs in the bank especially for abiding by strict corporate governance principles.

He, however, urged the company to consolidate on the performance by ensuring that all the subsidiaries contribute to the overall growth of the company.

He berated the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), monetary policies which failed to take into consideration the plight of shareholders and the harsh economic situation in the country.

“The CBN policies are killing these banks. They are not creating room for banks to pay dividend and unless they relax these policies, the banks would continue to pay us peanut,” he said.

Another Shareholder, Alhaji Kabiru Tambari, commended the Management for their prudent management of the affairs of the bank.

He lauded the bank for focusing on both the short term and long term growths, as well as its ability to sustain leadership position over the long term.

Reviewing its performance, the Chairman of the bank, Tony Elumelu, said: “We recorded a gross earnings of N290 billion in the year, an appreciable growth of 10 per cent over our performance in 2013. This improved performance was buoyed by the increased volume of transactions across all our service channels and growing share of our customers’ wallet.

“Notwithstanding the relatively high cost of doing business in Africa in the year, we remained prudent in our operations, thus ensuring our profitability in the year. Given increased extraction gains from our unique Pan-African platform, we are optimistic on delivering a stronger performance in 2015.”