Zenith Bank’s founder and the pioneer chief executive officer, Jim Ovia, will get N14.7 billion as final dividend for the financial year ended 31 December 2022. Jim Ovia stands as the only shareholder in the bank having direct shareholding currently standing at 11.29 percent, which by law, is mandated to be disclosed in the bank’s financial statements.
The N14.7 billion final dividend comes through his 11.29 percent direct shareholding and 4.85 percent indirect shareholding in the bank.
He had already received N1.52 billion as interim dividend for direct and indirect shareholdings for the same financial year, bringing his total dividend to N16.22 billion in 2022.
Despite the domestic and global headwinds, Zenith Bank, one of Nigeria’s tier-one banks, saw significant improvement in its top and bottom lines, according to the analysis of its 2022 financials.
Gross earnings increased by 23.5 percent to N945.55 billion in 2022, up from N765.56 billion in 2021. Interest income rose by 26.3 percent to N540.17 billion in 2022, compared to N427.59 billion realized in 2021.
Further analysis revealed that 68.6 percent of Zenith Bank’s interest income, that is N370.45 billion, came from loans and advances to customers in 2022. This compares to N292.22 billion the bank realized from the same source in 2021, which amounted 68.3 percent of the interest income earned in the previous year.
It should be recalled that Nigeria’s central bank, hiked the benchmark interest rate, the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) four times in order to tame the raging inflationary pressures in the country from 11.5 percent in April 2022 to 16.5 percent as of December 2022, causing commercial banks in the country to adjust their lending rates appropriately.
Government and other bonds were the second highest source of interest income to Zenith Bank last year, through which it generated N109.74 billion compared to N86.67 billion earned from the same instruments in 2021.
Interest income of N12.27 billion was made from placement with banks and discount houses in 2022 as against N6.77 billion in 2021; treasury bills generated N43.61 billion last year as against N40.43 billion in the previous year; promissory notes generated N1.33 billion in 2022 in contrast to N1.34 billion in 2021, just as interest income from commercial papers amounted to N2.77 billion in 2022 as against N168 million in the previous year.
Interest and similar expense was N171.54 billion in 2022, higher by 60.6 percent than the N106.79 billion incurred in 2021.
Net interest income for the bank in 2022 rose by 14.3 percent to N366.63 billion in contrast to N320.8 billion in the previous year.
The bank paid N60.74 billion as tax to the federal government, 69.6 percent higher than N35.82 billion paid in 2021.
The higher tax payment in 2022 mildly impacted Zenith Bank’s profit after tax, which witnessed a decline of 8.4 percent to N223.91 billion, down from N244.56 billion in 2021.
Notwithstanding, both the asset and liability wings of its financials saw robust growth. Loans and advances to customers increased by 19.6 percent to N4.013 trillion in 2022, up from N3.355 trillion in 2021.
Total assets rose by 30 percent to N12.28 trillion last year, up from N9.44 trillion in 2021.
Customers’ deposits rose by 38.7 percent to N8.975 trillion in 2022 as against N6.47 trillion in 2021. The bank’s total liabilities increased by 33.5 percent to N10.91 trillion when compared to N8.168 trillion in 2021.
Shareholders’ equity increased by 7.8 percent to N1.378 trillion when compared to N1.279 trillion in the previous year.
The bank has declared N2.9 per share on every 50 kobo ordinary share as the final dividend for shareholders whose names are on the register of members at the close of business on 14 April 2023. This is subject to the appropriate withholding tax.
This final dividend amounts to N91.05 billion. Having declared 30 kobo as interim dividend, the total dividend payable by Zenith Bank for 2022 financial year currently stands at N3.20 per share, or N100.47 billion.
“On May 2, 2023, dividends will be paid electronically to shareholders whose names appear on the register of members as at April 14, 2023 and who have completed the e-dividend registration and mandated the registrar to pay their dividends directly into their bank accounts. GDR holders will be paid subsequently”, the bank announced in a notice sent to the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX).
