Zenith Bank’s Q3 earnings rise to N620.6bn

Zenith Bank Plc said its gross earnings rose by 20 per cent from N518.7bn as of the end of third quarter of 2021 to N620.6bn in Q3, 2022.

It disclosed this in a statement on its unaudited results for the third quarter ended 30 September 2022 titled ‘Zenith Bank surmounts macroeconomic headwinds with double-digit growth in gross earnings in q3 2022’.

The performance demonstrated the Group’s resilience against a challenging macroeconomic environment, the stated noted.

According to the unaudited account presented to the Nigerian Exchange, the growth in the topline was driven by interest and non-interest income growth.

Interest income grew by 27 per cent from N308.8bn to N390.8bn, driven majorly by growth in risk assets and an improvement in pricing. This also strengthened earnings per share by nine per cent to N5.55.

This double-digit growth in the topline also aided the bottom line, as the Group also recorded a 13 per cent year-on-year increase in profit before tax, growing from N179.8bn in Q3, 2021 to N202.5bn in Q3, 2022.

Profit after tax equally grew by nine per cent from N160.6bn to N174.3bn in the same period.

Growth in non-interest income was enabled by the Group’s retail strategy, with continued substantial customer acquisition driving transactions, deposit growth and growth in electronic banking income.

Due to inflationary pressure and the rising cost of doing business, operating costs grew by 17 per cent. However, this was below the growth in gross earnings (20 per cent), thereby facilitating the double-digit growth in the bottom line.

The bank disclosed that the continuing elevated yield environment affected the cost of funding which increased from 1.4 per cent to 1.7 per cent in the current period.

This affected the net interest margin, which dropped due to the immediate implementation of higher yields on interest-bearing liabilities.

However, the NIM was expected to see a correction in subsequent quarters as the assets side was repriced correspondingly.

Total assets grew by 20 per cent from N9.45tn to N11.34tn in 2022, mainly driven by growth in customers’ deposits. Customer deposits grew by 24 per cent from N6.47tn in December 2021 to N8.04tn in September 2022 due to the market’s confidence in the brand.

Loans and advances also grew by 16 per cent from N3.5tn in December 2021 to N4.06tn in September 2022, boosting the Group’s interest income and displaying the Group’s appetite for high-yielding risk assets creation.