Zenith Bank to Distribute N126 Billion to Shareholders After Reporting Big Profit in Q1 2024
- Zenith Banks reported incredible growth in its profit for the first three months of 2024
- This is as its gross earnings increased to N781 billion from N270 billion in the previous year
- The board of directors of Zenith Bank Plc approved N126 billion to be distributed to shareholders
Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over three years of experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.
Zenith Bank reported an impressive performance for the first quarter of 2024, with a total gross earnings of N781 billion compared to N270 billion in the previous year's first quarter.
Source: UGC
Analysis showed that during the period, interest and similar income increased to N489 billion from N192 billion in the previous year.
Further details indicated that this was pushed up by an increase in bank loans and advances to customers as well as other items, including Placements with banks and discount houses, government and other bonds, and others.
Similarly, 'interest and related expenses' were up to N182 billion compared to N71 billion a year before. This was driven by an improvement in current accounts, savings accounts, time deposits, and others.
Personnel expenses increased from N23 billion to N43 billion, while profit before tax also jumped from N86 billion to N320 billion.
After the deduction of N62 billion tax, its profit after tax was valued at N258 billion, as seen in the company's report.
Dividend proposed
The company's shareholders approved the record N125 billion dividend that the board of directors of Zenith Bank Plc had recommended, according to a Leadership report.
The bank's directors suggested a final dividend of NGN3.50 per share, bringing the total payout for 2023 to N4 per share.
The banking company distributed the highest dividend of any bank for the 2023 fiscal year, totalling N125.59 billion.
The Pragmatic Shareholders Association of Nigeria's National Coordinator, Mrs. Bisi Bakare, expressed her happiness with the bank's outstanding performance.
She declared:
“Shareholders are very pleased today to receive a final dividend of N3.50 from Zenith Bank. Following an interim dividend of 50 kobo paid last December, the total dividend for the 2023 Annual General Meeting amounts to N4.00— the highest in the banking sector to date.
“We truly appreciate this and are optimistic that transitioning to a holding company will bring even greater returns. Zenith Bank’s numerous accolades this year position it as the leading bank in the country. We anticipate that the 2024 AGM, marking the first year as a holding company, will be even more promising for Zenith.”
Zenith Bank to change name
Legit.ng reported that shareholders of Zenith Bank Plc have all agreed to restructure the bank's operations into a holding company.
The decision was reached during a court-ordered Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) recently held virtually from Zenith Heights, Zenith Bank Plc, Victoria Island, Lagos.
During the meeting, the shareholders voted to transfer 31,396,493,787 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each, held in Zenith Bank Plc's issued and paid-up share capital, to Zenith Bank Holding Company Plc (the HoldCo).
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Source: Legit.ng
