Tony Elumelu to pocket $4.65 million in dividends from UBA

Nigerian billionaire and philanthropist Tony Elumelu is set to receive a significant sum of N2.14 billion ($4.65 million) in final dividends from United Bank for Africa (UBA), a prominent financial services group headquartered in Lagos.

This impressive payout forms a substantial portion of the N30.78 billion ($66.87 million) recommended by UBA’s board of directors. The dividend translates to N0.9 ($0.00196) per share and is expected to be credited to Elumelu’s bank account on Fri., April 14.

The $4.65-million dividend that Elumelu is set to receive from his UBA stake is 12.5-percent higher than the N1.9-billion ($4.13 billion) dividend that he received in 2022 when the leading banking group rewarded shareholders with a final dividend payout of N0.8 ($0.00174) per share.

UBA, one of Nigeria’s leading financial services groups, is a pan-African bank with operations in 24 countries across four continents, including the United Kingdom, the United States, France, and, most recently, the United Arab Emirates.

The bank is regarded as one of the continent’s leading financial institutions and a major player in the Nigerian financial services industry.

At the end of its 2022 fiscal year, the leading financial services group reported an outstanding 43.5-percent increase in profit, which rose from N118.68 billion ($257.6 million) in 2021 to N170.28 billion ($369.6 million), despite incurring a N17.3-billion ($37.5 million) impairment loss due to its exposure in Ghana investment market, “which significantly lost its value due to Domestic Debt Exchange Program (DDEP) launched by Government of Ghana on December 5, 2022.”

UBA’s resilient performance translated into a surge in total assets, which increased to N10.85 trillion ($23.5 billion) from N8.54 trillion ($18.54 billion).

Its retained earnings witnessed a noteworthy increase from N335.84 billion ($729 million) to N429.53 billion ($932.2 million), showcasing the group’s steady growth and robust financial position.

Elumelu, who is widely regarded as one of the most influential business executives on the continent, owns a significant 6.9-percent stake in the financial services group.

His equity position in the pan-African bank is today worth about $42 million.