Unity Bank Plc has declared gross earnings of N33.90 billion for the nine months period ended Sept. 30, as against N31.25 billion recorded in the same period in 2019.
Mrs Tomi Somefun, the bank’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer disclosed in its unaudited results representing Q3 sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange in Lagos.
The increase in gross earnings represents an eight per cent growth from the corresponding period last year.
Also, the bank’s total assets rose significantly to N420.87 billion in the nine-month period ended Sept. 30, from N293.05 billion in the corresponding period of 2019.
This represents a 44 per cent asset growth.
The bank also grew its bottom-line by six per cent as profit before tax rose to N1.71 billion from N1.61 billion in 2019.
Profit after tax equally grew by six per cent to N1.57 billion, compared to N1.48 billion recorded in the same period in 2019.
The bank substantially grew its customers deposit portfolio to N332.36 billion, from N257.69 billion for the same period in 2019, creating a 29 per cent increase.
Unity Bank had, earlier, rolled out massive customer-centric products to the public, especially in the retail space, which accelerated the banking patronage during the period.
Somefun welcomed the steady growth of the balance sheet, especially from both assets and liability side of the business and across key performance indices.
She said that this had sustained impact on the bottom-line, even as the bank continued to innovate in its e-business product bouquet to target and support value chain business with robust technology and thus diversify its earnings base.
“One of the areas that will define our strategic direction going forward is investment in alternative channels leveraging further deployment of resources in technology.
“COVID-19 gave us a chance to test the integrity and scalability of our technology, the IT infrastructure, and the electronic banking channels.
“This provided us an opportunity to see where we needed to improve and strengthen, knowing that the future of sustainable banking business is in alternative channels.
“The results can also be attributable to the bank’s growing brand profile and leadership in agribusiness, especially having provided loans and financing to over one million smallholder farmers, especially those in primary production and other value chain businesses in the agricultural sector,” she said.
According to her, during the period under review, the bank enhanced and deepened its collaboration and partnership with major commodity associations.
These include the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, Maize Farmers Association of Nigeria and the National Cotton Association of Nigeria.
The partnership is to finance over 400 smallholder farmers’ crop production with the overall strategic intent of fostering food security, employment generation and aggregate economic welfare of citizens across the value chains.
The bank also worked with processors and members of Millers Association of Nigeria to provide working capital through the CBN’s various intervention funds, while providing credit facilities to large number of input suppliers and vendors through the Anchor Borrower’s Programme.
Somefun said that the bank would continue to focus on agriculture, while deepening business in various new markets that had been developed alongside to pull more resources and enhance multiple streams of income.
