Jim Ovia’s Zenith Bank records one-percent growth in profit before tax in Q3

Zenith Bank Plc, a Nigerian tier-1 capital commercial bank, has posted its unaudited results for the nine months ending Sept. 30, 2021, recording a one-percent growth in profit before tax (PBT) despite headwinds.

The bank recorded a PBT growth of N180 billion ($438.69 million) compared to N177 billion ($431.38 million) during the same period last year.

The group’s gross earnings increased by two percent to NGN519 billion ($1.26 billion) from N509 billion ($1.24 billion) last year due to increased charges on current account maintenance and a growth in electronic products in the period.

Earnings per share grew by one percent to N5.11 ($0.012).

A 22-percent drop in treasury bills triggered a decline in the bank’s income interest. However, it recorded a nine-percent growth in interest income from loans and advances on the back of gross loans amounting to nine percent year to date. This led to a 21-percent drop in interest expenses to N74 billion ($180.3 million) from N94 billion ($229.09 million).

As a result, the bank recorded a cumulative growth in net interest income of four percent to N235 billion ($572.73 million), compared to the N225 billion ($548.36 million) recorded during the same period last year.

Zenith Bank is a large financial services provider in Nigeria and Anglophone West Africa, licensed as a commercial bank by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

It was founded in 1990 by Jim Ovia, a Nigerian businessman and multimillionaire. He is the bank’s chairman and largest individual shareholder, with a stake amounting to 5,072,104,311 ordinary shares, valued at N121.7 billion ($295.8 million), as of Sept. 1.