Unity Bank grows gross earnings to N57 billion in 2022

Unity Bank Plc, a Nigerian retail bank, posted a profit before tax (PBT) of N1.1 billion for the full year ended December 2022. This represents a 13.1% increase from the N50.2 billion reported in the previous year.

The bank’s gross earnings also increased by 13.1% to N57 billion, from N50.2 billion in 2021. This was driven by a 7.5% increase in loans and advances to customers, to N289.4 billion, from N269.3 billion in 2021.

Income from fees and commissions also increased by 25.7% to N7.68 billion, from N6.1 billion in 2021.

Customer deposits increased by 1.6% to N327.4 billion, from N322.2 billion in 2021.

In the first quarter of 2023, Unity Bank continued to perform well, with a 21% increase in profit after tax (PAT) to N1.04 billion, from N869.2 million in the previous quarter. Gross earnings also increased by 17% to N15.9 billion, from N13.6 billion in the previous quarter.

The Managing Director/CEO of Unity Bank Plc, Mrs Tomi Somefun, attributed the bank’s improved performance to its focus on building back momentum, despite the economic headwinds and volatilities that characterized the operating environment in 2022.

She said that the bank would continue to focus on its core businesses, while also exploring new opportunities to grow its business.

“There are highs and lows as we look at the gross earnings, with 13.7% growth, increase in liquid assets by 7.5% and deposits recording moderate growth of 1.6%, while maintaining steady growth in profitability”, she stated.

“Overall, the financial statement thus threw up both strong and less optimal points which inform the outlook for our business”, she further stated.

She reassures that going into the new financial year, the Bank will remain laser-focused on our strategic choices and key growth drivers to push all the indices and elevate growth to double-digit territory. “The performance posted for Q1’23 in terms of the PBT, gross earnings, and other key indicators are strong reinforcement of adequate measures being adopted and a testament of our resolve to sustain and equally improve upon the fundamental initiatives adopted to strengthen growth throughout the course of the financial year”, Mrs Somefun stated.

She further said: “Since late 2022, the Bank has begun significant investment in technology and innovation in line with its strategic pursuits to win in the retail space with our focus on digital and lifestyle banking, dynamic product development, and accelerated onboarding. As part of our transformation journey, we will double down on these investments in the coming months in order to achieve our aspirations of (1) significantly reducing customer pain points and simplifying customer experience; (2) increasing the rate of customer acquisition; (3) expanding the frontiers of partnerships; and (4) ultimately developing new and sustainable income lines for the Bank.”

She claims that as the Bank broadens its offering of products and services to meet the changing demands of its prized clients, it will continue to focus on quick process automation, cost and resource efficiency, targeted value chain linkages, and brand awareness.

Analysts believe that the Bank’s expanding retail base, which is driving its repositioning strategy, is in line with market expectations, and that this is reflected in the growing demand for the Bank’s products.