Nigerian tycoon Tony Elumelu’s stake in UBA sheds $6.8 million, as shares plunge on NGX

Mfonobong Nsehe -

Tony Elumelu, a prominent Nigerian businessman and philanthropist, has seen the market value of his equity stake in United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), a Lagos-based pan-African financial services group, fall by $6.8 million since the start of the year.

The decrease in his equity stake in the pan-African group follows a sustained decline in the bank’s shares on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), despite reporting N116.04 billion ($265.66 million) in earnings in the first nine months of its 2022 fiscal year.

UBA, one of Nigeria’s leading financial services groups, ranks as one of the leading banks on the continent thanks to its pan-African and global operations spanning 24 countries and four continents, including the UK, United States, France, and, recently, the United Arab Emirates.

Elumelu, the chairman of UBA and one of Africa’s most powerful executives, owns a significant 6.9-percent stake in the financial services group. His stake in the pan-African bank is presently worth around $36 million.

Since the year began, the market value of the Nigerian multimillionaire mogul’s stake in the pan-African banking group has dropped by N2.98 billion ($6.8 billion), from N19.17 billion ($43.8 million) on Jan. 1 to N16.2 billion ($36.9 million) on Nov. 3.

The decline in the market value of his stake was caused by a 15.5-percent drop in the bank’s share price on the NGX, from N8.05 ($0.0184) per share at the start of the year to N6.8 ($0.0155) per share at the time of writing.

Even though the lender’s profit increased by 11 percent during the first nine months of its current fiscal year, from N104.6 billion ($239.5 million) to N116.04 billion ($265.66 million), its valuation has fallen by double digits.

The Nigerian lender, however, is well-positioned to surpass the N118.68 billion ($283.6 million) total profit it reported at the end of 2021, when its gross earnings increased by seven percent, from N616.84 billion ($1.47 billion) to N660.22 billion ($1.58 billion).

If the double-digit earnings growth is sustained, Elumelu, who has received a total dividend of $4.7 million from his stake in UBA this year, is on track to receive another sizable dividend from the Lagos-based financial services group next year.