Zenith Bank on track to surpass N1trn profit in 2024 – Adaora

The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (GMD/CEO) of Zenith Bank Plc, Dame Dr Adaora Umeoji, has said that given the trend of the bank’s performance and having achieved a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of N796 billion in 2023 and N320 billion in the first quarter of 2024, the bank is on track to deliver over N1 trillion in PBT in 2024.

Dr Adaora made the disclosure at the bank’s Capital Market Day last week to showcase the bank’s inherent values as it embarked on its recapitalisation journey.

The event brought together key market players focused on the bank’s growth trajectory, strategic objectives, market performance and consistent and robust dividend payout over the years.

It also provided an opportunity for the bank to inform capital market stakeholders about its risk management culture, adherence to regulations, capital adequacy and maintenance of low non-performing loan levels.

Addressing capital market stakeholders, investors and analysts at the event in Lagos, she highlighted the financial institution’s Tier-1 capital of N1.8trn, shareholders’ funds of N2.3trn, market capitalisation of N1.3trn, a PBT of N796bn and a dividend of N4 per share for the year ended December, 2023.

Adaora said, “For us at Zenith, we won’t be left out. We are planning to go to the market to raise capital, and as it stands, Zenith Bank has the least amount of capital to raise.

“We are looking to raise N230 billion because we are already at N270.7 billion. That is the least capital to raise among our peers. We believe that Zenith Bank has what it takes. We have the capacity, the network, the balance sheet, the human capital, and the track record to achieve that.”

Also speaking, the Chief Financial Officer/General Manager, Dr Mukhtar Adam, pointed out that in the last five years, the bank’s Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) in revenue had grown by over 27 per cent.

Adam said, “This continues to grow year-on-year. Within this period, at some point, Nigeria went into recession, but we forged ahead, worked very hard, and continued to deliver growth.

“Within the last five years, our profit before tax has also grown cumulatively by about 28 per cent. This is a market where, at some point, government instruments – treasury bills – were paying one per cent, two per cent, three per cent. But we forged ahead to grow the numbers and provide stable returns of at least 28 per cent.”