Zenith Bank Shareholders Get N87.91bn Dividend Payout
Zenith Bank Plc has announced N87.91 billion in dividend payout to its shareholders for the financial year ended 31st December 2021.
Zenith Bank disclosed that N2.80 kobo per ordinary share from its outstanding shares of 31,396,493,786.00, amounting to a dividend of N87.91 billion would be disbursed to shareholders upon approval.
According to Zenith Bank, the N2.80 kobo takes the total dividend to N3.10 kobo, made up of the interim dividend of N0.30 per share which was paid on the 20th of September 2021.
The lender disclosed that the dividend will be disbursed electronically to ordinary shareholders on Wednesday, April 6, 2022, adding that shareholders whose names appear on the Register of Members as of Friday, March 25th 2022, and who have completed the e-dividend registration and mandated their Registrar to pay their dividends directly into their bank accounts.
Amid the dividend payout to shareholders, the bank in a statement on Tuesday by Michael Osilama Otu, Company Secretary/General Counsel, however, proposed no bonus.
“A Final Dividend of N2.80k for every share of 50K (bringing the total dividend for the financial year ended December 31, 2021, to N3.10k), subject to appropriate withholding tax and approval will be paid to shareholders whose
names appear in the Register of Members as at the close of business on the 25th March 2022,” Zenith Bank stated.
The dividend payout is based on a double-digit growth of 10 per cent in gross earnings recorded in the 2021 financial year, bringing its earnings to N765.6 billion from N696.5 billion reported in the previous year. This was on the back of 23 per cent YoY growth in non-interest income from N251.7billion to N309billion and a 2 per cent YoY growth in interest income from N420.8billion to NGN427.6billion. The performance came despite a challenging macroeconomic environment aggravated by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Profit before tax also grew by 10 per cent from NGN255.9 billion to NGN280.4 billion in the current year owing to the growth in the top-line and very strong management of the treasury portfolio that increased efficiency, resulting in a drop in interest expense by 12 per cent from NGN121.1 billion in 2020 to NGN106.8 billion in the current year. This further led to a 7 per cent increase in net interest income of NGN320.8 billion in 2021 from NGN299.7 billion in 2020.
Customer deposits increased by 21 per cent growing from NGN5.34 trillion in the previous year to NGN6.47 trillion in the current year from both corporate and retail customers. Retail deposits grew by NGN146 billion from NGN1.72 trillion in 2020 to NGN1.87 trillion in 2021. The Group’s continuous drive for retail deposits combined with the strategic rebalancing of its funding base helped to reduce the cost of funding from 2.1 per cent to 1.5 per cent in the current year. Although operating expenses grew by 13 per cent YoY, growth remains below the inflation rate, and the Group improved its Earnings per Share (EPS) which grew by 6 per cent from NGN7.34 to NGN7.78.
Total assets increased by 11 per cent, growing from NGN8.48 trillion in 2020 to NGN9.45 trillion in 2021, mainly driven by growth in customer deposits. With the steady recovery in economic activities, the Group prudently grew its gross loans by 20%, from NGN2.9 trillion in 2020 to NGN3.5 trillion in 2021, with moderated NPL ratio from 4.29 per cent to 4.19 per cent YoY. The Group recorded impressive liquidity and capital adequacy ratios of 71.6 per cent and 21 per cent, which remained above regulatory thresholds of 30 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively.
In 2022, the Group intends to consolidate on the gains achieved in the previous year in all business segments and combine leadership in the industry, innovation and technology to drive improved performance and deliver enhanced returns to all stakeholders.
Osilama Otu said the register of shareholders will be closed on March 28, 2022, while the qualification date is fixed for March 25, 2022, and the dividend paid electronically on April 6, 2022, dividends to shareholders whose names appear on the Register of Members as at March 25, 2022, and who have completed the e-dividend registration and mandated the Registrar to pay their dividends directly into their Bank accounts.
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