United Bank for Africa has formally requested approval from the Nigerian Exchange Limited for its planned rights issue.
In a market bulletin issued on Tuesday and signed by Head of the Issuer Regulation Department at NGX RegCo, tGodstime Iwenekhai, the bank confirmed that it has engaged its stockbrokers, United Capital Securities Limited, to facilitate the process.
The rights issue is part of UBA’s strategy to raise capital, though further details on the size and terms of the offer have yet to be disclosed.
The proposed rights issue includes “Six Billion, Eight Hundred and Thirty-Nine Million, Eight Hundred and Eighty-Four Thousand, Two Hundred and Seventy-Four (6,839,884,274) ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N35.00 per share based on one new ordinary share for every five ordinary shares held as at the close of business on Tuesday, 5 November 2024,” part of the notice read.
In the last trading sessions on NGX, UBA shares traded as high as N35.05 and as low as N29 each.
The stock closed on Wednesday at N31.55, marking a 9.99% decline.
Despite the dip, UBA shares have been actively traded in recent days, reflecting increased market activity surrounding the lender.
At the end of the third quarter, UBA reported that its gross earnings appreciated by 83.2 per cent year-on-year to N2.39tn from N1.31tn in the same period of 2023.
UBA reported a significant growth in its financial performance for the third quarter of 2024. The bank’s net interest income surged by 149%, reaching N1.10 trillion, compared to N443 billion at the end of Q3 2023. Profit before tax increased by 20.2%, rising to N603.48 billion from N502.09 billion in Q3 2023.
Meanwhile, profit after tax grew by 16.9%, reaching N525.31 billion, up from N449.26 billion a year earlier.
The bank has seen a significant rise in its total assets, which grew by 54.0% to reach N31.80 trillion, compared to N20.65 trillion at the close of December 2023.
In a statement accompanying its latest results, the bank credited its growth to technology-driven initiatives aimed at enhancing customer experience, noting that these efforts have played a key role in driving its performance over the past few years.
