By NKIRUKA NNOROM

Investors in the Nigerian capital market are reacting positively to the first quarter result of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc with the share prices rising for three consecutive days following announcement of pre-tax profit of 200 per cent.

The first quarter unaudited results for the period ended 31st March, 2012, released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed impressive growth in the fundamentals, also surpassing management’s forecast which was released in February this year.

UBA shares advanced by 4.69 percent for the second day running closing Thursday at N2.68 per share from the day’s opening price of N2.56. The stock price had rallied to a new high of N2.51 per share on Wednesday in reaction to the bank’s declaration that pre-tax profit for the period increased by over 200 per cent to N16.1 billion.

Chief Finance Officer, Mr. Ugo Nwaghodoh, noted that the bank’s performance reaffirmed its strong earning capacity, adding, “The underlying fundamentals of our business remain very strong, and we shall continue to optimise the balance sheet for even stronger earnings.