IN SHORT: United Bank for Africa posted profit after tax of N404.7 billion ($259 million) for FY2025, a 47% decline from N766.6 billion in 2024, as foreign exchange trading swung from a N182 billion gain to a N141 billion loss and loan impairment charges hit N331 billion following the expiry of CBN forbearance provisions. The bank slashed its dividend from N5.00 to N0.25 per share to conserve capital after completing a N395 billion rights issue. Total assets grew 9.4% to N33.17 trillion.
UBA’s 2025 results look like a collapse. They are better understood as a kitchen-sink year: the bank absorbed the reversal of 2024’s extraordinary FX tailwind, cleared its provisioning backlog following CBN forbearance expiry, raised N395 billion in fresh equity for recapitalisation, and slashed its dividend, all in a single reporting period, to emerge with a cleaner balance sheet and higher capital ratios heading into 2026.
The results were filed with the Nigerian Exchange on April 25, audited by Ernst and Young, and reflect the full-year period to December 31, 2025.
- The 47% profit decline is explained almost entirely by two non-recurring items. FX trading swung from a N181.8 billion gain in 2024 to a N140.6 billion loss in 2025, a N322 billion negative swing, as naira volatility that had boosted revaluation gains in 2024 reversed. Separately, impairment charges on loans reached N331 billion, up 52.6%, as the expiry of CBN’s post-COVID forbearance programme forced banks to recognise credit losses that had been deferred under regulatory support.
- Strip those two items out and the underlying business is in reasonable shape. Net interest income rose 4% to N1.62 trillion. Total assets expanded 9.4% to N33.17 trillion. Customer deposits grew 11% year on year. Gross earnings across the group reached N3.09 trillion, driven by interest income growth of 9.8% to N2.65 trillion.
- The dividend decision is the most visible consequence of the result. Shareholders receive N0.25 per share in total for 2025, against N5.00 in 2024. The board proposed no final dividend, meaning the only payment is the N0.25 interim already distributed. The payout ratio collapsed from 30.3% to 6.2%. The reasoning is capital discipline: UBA simultaneously completed a N395 billion rights issue to meet the CBN’s N500 billion minimum capital requirement for international banks, and chose to preserve capital rather than distribute it.
- UBA operates across 24 African countries with over 43 million customers. CEO Oliver Alawuba framed the result as a deliberate balance sheet strengthening: "The 2025 financial year was defined by UBA’s proactive approach to the CBN’s new recapitalisation requirements. With the deliberate steps we have taken to reposition our Nigerian operations, we are well placed to cautiously drive risk asset growth in line with improving macroeconomic conditions." Alawuba targets over N1 trillion in additional risk assets in 2026.
- Despite the profit decline, UBA shares rose approximately 32% year to date in the first four months of 2026, reflecting the market’s assessment that the N331 billion provisioning is recoverable rather than permanent. Management has committed to aggressive loan recovery efforts with all recoveries expected to flow directly through the profit and loss statement in FY2026 and beyond. If recoveries materialise at even 20% of the provisioned amount, that represents approximately N66 billion in pure profit.
- Four executive directors retired on December 31: Muyiwa Akinyemi, Alex Alozie, Sola Yomi-Ajayi and Abiola Bawuah. Three new EDs were appointed from January 1, 2026, pending CBN approval: Emmanuel Lamptey (digital banking), Tosin Adewuyi (corporate banking) and Chidi Okpala (personal and business banking).
Capital Adequacy Ratio stood at 23.2% at year-end, providing N504 billion in capital buffers above regulatory minimums, positioning UBA to grow its loan book aggressively in 2026.
The Bigger Picture: UBA in 2024 was a beneficiary of the naira devaluation that made its FX revaluation gains look spectacular. UBA in 2025 is a bank returning to its underlying earnings capacity after the windfall reversed. The 47% profit drop is real but misleading as a signal of structural decline. The more important story is what the provisioning cycle means: Nigerian banks took government forbearance during COVID, and that forbearance has now expired. Banks that emerge from this provisioning cycle with cleaner books, higher capital ratios and stronger recovery pipelines will be in a position of genuine strength in 2026. Whether UBA is one of them depends on the quality of what was provisioned, and the market, for now, is betting on recovery.
Source: Nairametrics / Vanguard / CNBC Africa
