By Bayo Bernard
Top new generation bank, Zenith Bank Plc, has declared N174 billion as its gross Profit-Before-Tax, PBT for the year ended 2017.
The figure is higher than the N140 billion the bank posted as Profit-Before-Tax in 2016, a sharp improvement of more than 24 per cent.
While making this disclosure at its 27th Annual General Meeting in Abuja on Friday, the bank’s Chairman, Jim Ovia said the bank’s Profit-After-Tax rose by 32 per cent, from N119 billion in 2016 to N157 billion in 2017.
Ovia said the performance is very impressive considering that 2017 was particularly a turbulent financial year due to recession and other problem that plagued the economy.
According to him total deposits received within the year-ended December 31, 2017 stood at N2.74 trillion, representing eight per cent increase over the previous year’s figure of N2.55trillion.
The period under review indicate that, total assets of the bank rose from N4.28trillion to N4.83trillion, representing 13 per cent.
At the same time, Zenith Bank’s shareholders’ fund also rose by 15 per cent, representing an increase from N616billion in 2016 to N708billion in 2017.
The bank also posted positive gross earnings within the same year. For example, its gross earnings grew by 48 per cent from N455billion in 2016 to N674billion in 2017, showing strength over its folks.
Ovia said: “Zenith Bank remains committed to delivering superior returns to shareholders. In clear demonstration of this, we have declared and paid them an interim dividend of 25kobo per share in the course of the 2017 financial year”.
After short deliberations on the report of the bank, the shareholders unanimously approved with a vote of no objection for the sharing of final dividend of 245kobo per share that was proposed by the Board. The amount that was approved brings the total dividend for the year ended to 270kobo per share as against 202kobo per share that was paid the previous year.
As a group, the performance indices were very impressive. The group’s Profit-Before-Tax grew by 30 per cent – from N157billion in 2016 to 203billion in 2017.
