Zenith Bank’s Gross Earnings Hit ₦756bn, Profit Before Tax Rose To ₦280bn

One of Nigeria’s financial institutions, Zenith Bank Plc has released its audited financial results for the 2021 financial year.

In a statement on Monday, the bank said it released the audited financial results to the Nigeria Exchange Group (NEXG) for vetting and approval.

The bank disclosed that its gross earnings rose by 10 percent to ₦765.6bn as of the end of December 2021, compared to ₦696.5bn made in the corresponding period of 2020.

According to the bank, it recorded a big win as its profit before tax grew by 10 per cent from ₦255.9bn to ₦280.4bn in the current year.

Zenith bank stated that the success was achieved despite a challenging macroeconomic environment aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic and intends to consolidate on the gains achieved in the previous year in all business segments.

The lender said the latest achievement on the back of a 23 per cent year-on-year growth in non-interest income from ₦251.7bn to ₦309bn, and a two per cent YoY growth in interest income from ₦420.8bn to ₦427.6bn.

It said the increase was due to growth in the top-line and strong management of the treasury portfolio that increased efficiency, resulting in a drop in interest expense by 12 per cent from ₦121.1bn in 2020 to ₦106.8bn in the current year.

This further led to a seven per cent increase in net interest income of ₦320.8bn in 2021 from ₦299.7bn in 2020, it added.

Zenith has announced a proposed final dividend payout of ₦2.80 per share, bringing the total dividend to ₦3.10 per share in its commitment to its shareholders.

The statement reads, “Customer deposits increased by 21 per cent, growing from ₦5.34tn in the previous year to ₦6.47tn in the current year.

“The growth in customer deposits came from both corporate and retail customers. Retail deposits grew by ₦146bn from NGN1.72tn in 2020 to NGN1.87tn in 2021.

“The group’s continuous drive for retail deposits combined with the strategic rebalancing of its funding base helped to reduce the cost of funding from 2.1 per cent to 1.5 per cent in the current year.

“Although operating expenses grew by 13 per cent YoY, growth remains below the inflation rate, and the group improved its earnings per share which grew by six per cent from ₦7.34 to ₦7.78.”

“In the group’s total assets increased by 11 per cent, growing from ₦8.48tn in 2020 to ₦9.45tn in 2021, mainly driven by growth in customer deposits.

“With the steady recovery in economic activities, the group grew its gross loans by 20 per cent, from ₦2.9tn in 2020 to ₦3.5tn in 2021, with moderated non-performing loan ratio from 4.29 per cent to 4.19 per cent YoY.

“The bank also recorded liquidity and capital adequacy ratios of 71.6 per cent and 21.0 per cent, which remained above regulatory thresholds of 30 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively.”