Unity Bank grows H1 results by 14 %, leaps into highest e-banking earners

Unity Bank has grown its total operating income by 14 per cent in the first half of 2020.

The financial services provider’s earnings peaked at N12.138 billion in 2020 from N10.688 billion in the same period in 2019.

Similarly, the bank’s  N1.3 billion earnings  through electronic banking has placed it  among the top 10 highest earners in Nigeria.

This was according to a Nairametrics research report released recently.

The Bank’s performance is not unconnected with its aggressive push in digital banking in recent years. It  spearheaded the launch of several cutting-edge digital baking solutions. This included a youth-focused mobile banking solution called UniFi and a robust internet banking platform.

Earlier in the year, Unity Bank launched multi-lingual USSD banking, the first in Nigeria’s banking industry.

Industry watchers opine that the bank’s aggressive reforms over the past three years are yielding dividends.  The bank returned to profit position in 2019 when it recorded a N4.061 billion gross profit.

The bank’s 2019 impressive performance has been improved upon in 2020. Its gross earnings stand at N22.8 billion between January and June 2020.

According to its unaudited financials submitted to the Nigeria Stock Exchange, the H1 gross earnings rose 11 per cent to N22.865 billion from N20.547 billion in 2019.

 Profit Before Tax grew by 7 per cent from N1.051 billion in H1 2019 to N1.120 billion in 2020. Profit After Tax equally rose by 7 per cent to N1.030 billion from N967.514 million in the corresponding 2019.

The bank however, showed strength in agribusiness by 19 per cent. It earned  N306.472 billion as against N257.691 billion as at December 2019.