Nigerian banking tycoon Jim Ovia is on course to pocket a N14.2-billion ($34.1 million) dividend from his stake in Zenith Bank Plc, one of Nigeria’s leading financial services groups.
The dividend, which is part of the cash distribution approved by the board of directors, will be paid from the group’s retained earnings of approximately N607.2 billion ($1.46 billion) accumulated over time since it began operations more than 30 years ago.
Zenith Bank is a leading financial services provider in Nigeria and Anglophone West Africa, licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria as a commercial bank.
Aside from his governance roles in the lender, Ovia, who founded the tier-one bank in 1990, holds a substantial 16.2-percent stake, or 5,072,104,311 ordinary shares.
Since it was established, Zenith Bank has grown into Nigeria’s most profitable bank and the largest listed financial services group on the Nigerian Exchange, with a valuation of N851 billion ($2.04 billion) on the local bourse.
At the end of 2021, the bank’s profit climbed by six percent from N230.57 billion ($554.24 million) in 2020 to N244.56 billion ($587.87 million) in 2021, driven by 10-percent top-line growth.
The 10-percent rise in gross earnings in 2021 was fueled by a seven-percent increase in net interest income and a 23-percent surge in non-interest revenue, which went from N251.75 billion ($605.12 million) in 2020 to N309.04 billion ($742.83 million) this year.
The bank’s board of directors authorized a final dividend of N2.80 ($0.00673) per share, which, when coupled with the interim dividend of N0.30 ($0.000721) per share, brings the total payout to shareholders to N3.10 ($0.00745) per share.
In line with the board of directors’ decision, Ovia will receive N14.2 billion ($34.1 million) in total distribution from the bank’s earnings when the dividend is paid on April 6.
