TheCable

Unity Bank Plc has reported a six percent increase in both profit before tax and profit after tax.

Figures from the bank’s unaudited third-quarter results published on the Nigerian Stock Exchange website showed that profit before tax grew from N1.61 billion in Q3 2019 to N1.71 billion in Q3 2020 and profit after tax grew from N1.48 billion to N1.57 billion within the same period.

The bank said total assets increased by 44 percent to N420.87 billion from N293.05 billion in September 2019 and gross earnings were up eight percent from N31.25 billion to N33.90 billion.

Customers’ deposit portfolio rose by 29 percent to N332.362 billion from N257.691 billion in Q3 2019 which the bank describes as an affirmation of the confidence customers have in the institution.

Commenting on the financial results, Tomi Somefun (pictured), chief executive officer (CEO) of Unity Bank Plc, said the steady growth of the balance sheet in key performance indices has had a sustained impact on the bottom-line, even as the bank continues to 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,” she said.

“COVID-19 gave us a chance to test the integrity and scalability of our technology, the IT infrastructure, and the electronic banking channels, and 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.”

She added that the bank will continue to focus on agriculture while deepening business in various new markets that have been developed alongside to pull more resources.