Shareholders of Zenith Bank Plc have approved a final dividend of N4.00 per share at the company’s 34th Annual General Meeting held on Tuesday in Lagos.

The approval brings the total dividend for the 2024 financial year to N5.00 per share, amounting to N195.67bn in total payout to shareholders.

The Chairman and Founder of Zenith Bank Plc, Jim Ovia, expressed appreciation to shareholders for their continued support, which he said had contributed to the bank’s performance over the years. He said the bank had navigated the challenging global environment in 2024 by leveraging opportunities across its subsidiaries, thereby maintaining operational resilience.

In her remarks, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank, Adaora Umeoji, thanked shareholders for the confidence reposed in her leadership, noting that this was her first AGM as the bank’s GMD/CEO.

She assured shareholders of the bank’s commitment to sustained growth, stating that dividend payments would continue to increase in line with the bank’s performance.

She said, “We have successfully completed our recapitalisation exercise, achieving 160 per cent subscription. Therefore, we are not under any pressure to raise additional funds. Zenith Bank has sufficient capital buffers and remains focused on organic growth while upholding strict corporate governance.”

Also, the President of the Association for the Advancement of the Rights of Nigerian Shareholders, Faruk Umar, commended the bank’s leadership for the declared dividend and the bank’s growth in key financial indices. He noted that the bank’s profit and shareholders’ funds had crossed the trillion-naira mark, which he described as significant.

The Chairman of the Trusted Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Otunba Mukhtar, also praised the bank’s consistent dividend history. He said the N5 dividend payout, including a profit before tax of N1.3tn, reflected strong financial management and shareholder value.

Umeoji noted that Zenith Bank was named the Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital for the 15th consecutive year in the 2024 Top 1000 World Banks Ranking published by The Banker Magazine adding that it also won the Bank of the Year (Nigeria) award in 2020, 2022, and 2024, and the Best Bank in Nigeria award in four of the last five years from Global Finance.

For the 2024 financial year, Zenith Bank Plc reported a 138 per cent increase in interest income, driven by investment in high-yield government securities and growth in its loan book. Gross earnings rose by 86 per cent from N2.13tn in 2023 to N3.97tn in 2024. Customer deposits grew by 45 per cent, and total assets rose by 47 per cent.

Last year, The PUNCH reported that the shareholders of Zenith Bank Plc have approved the record N125bn dividend proposed by the group’s board of directors.