Unity Bank released its 2014 FY results showing Net Interest income rose 51% to N45.4billion compared to N30billion reported a year earlier.
Pre-tax profits for the period was N13.3billion compared to the N33.6billion loss it reported a year earlier. Profit after tax was N10.6billion compared to the N22.5billion reported a year earlier.
The reversal into losses is largely attributed to the N22.4billion in loan losses incurred last year as well as “other operating expenses” of N33billion incurred in 2013.
Earnings per share was 17.45 kobo per share compared to 58.74 kobo losses. Unity Bank loans rose 11.7& to N219billion. Deposits however, dropped 8.5% to N277billion. Unity Bank reported a negative retained earnings of N56.4billion (2013: N58.7billion). Negative retained earnings did not move despite this year’s profit as the company as it wrote off N8.4billion which it passed through retained earnings. It didn’t explain what the N8.4billion is.
It probably still can’t pay dividends because the share premium is just over N10billion and as such it can’t set off the negative retained earnings against this share premium.