Uche Usim, Abuja
Zenith Bank Plc on Monday disclosed that its total deposits as at December 31, 2019 stood at N3.49 trillion, representing a 23.6 per cent increase over the 2018 figure of N2.82 trillion.
The bank also said it paid shareholders N2.50k as dividend per share having earlier paid 30kobo as interim dividend in the course of the 2019 financial year, to bring its total dividend for the year to N2.80k per share.
The Chairman of the bank, Mr Jim Ovia, who made the disclosure at its 29th annual general meeting held in Abuja said the robust dividend came from a profit after tax of N178 billion for the year under review, presenting a 7.6 per cent increase from the N165 billion it posted in 2018.
He added that the profit before tax rose by 4.1 per cent from N192 billion in 2018 to N200 billion in 2019. Ovia also told the shareholders that total assets of Zenith Bank grew by 9.7 per cent from N4.96 trillion to N5.44 trillion, while shareholders fund rose by 15.4 per cent from N675 billion to N779 billion in 2019.
“As a group, the group gross earnings also grew by 5 per cent, from N232 billion in 2018 to N243 billion in 2019. The group total assets grew by 7 percent from N5.96 trillion in 2018 to N6.35 trillion in 2019 while customers’ deposit increased by 15 percent during the same period from N3.69 trillion to N4.26 trillion”, he said.
The Zenith Bank Chairman described 2019 as a challenging year for operators in the financial sector due to several counterveiling and supervening factors locally and globally.
“Our major focus in 2019 was to support the government’s effort at improving well-being and the life expectancy of Nigerians through support for quality healthcare in host communities. He said the bank has invested heavily in technology and digital solutions to offer better services.
In his remarks, the Group Managing Director of the bank, Mr Ebenezer Onyeagwu, said shareholders have every cause to be elated given the high dividend payout by the bank.
“On the whole, we are giving them a dividend of N2.80 Kobo which translates to a dividend yield of over 14 per cent. And when you look at it vis-à-vis the current share price, you are looking at a dividend of 15 per cent per annum. We have also assured the shareholders that no matter the challenges operating in the external environment, the bank will continue to be efficiently managed; we will create value and we won’t be reckless because we want to comply with loan to deposit ratio”.
“We will also continue to remain ethical and focused, so shareholders have every reasons to be happy”, he said.
On the implications of coronavirus , Onyeagwu said it remains a global pandemic that is not peculiar to Nigeria.
‘What we have done as a bank is that we have made the health and safety of our staff as a priority. We have elevated our health and safety protocol. So, we are taking first, health precautionary measures. Secondly, we are looking at the areas of vulnerability as a financial institution and within this period, we have no plans of any risk acquisition until we see how the virus is contained in the global economy.