Zenith Bank Plc recorded a 20 percent growth in gross earnings from N518.7 billion in Q3 2021 to N620.6 billion in Q3 2022, its unaudited account for the period ended September 30, 2022, and filed with the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), has shown.
The growth was driven by positive interest-income related performance. Interest income grew by 27 per cent from N308.8 billion to NlN390.8 billion, driven majorly by growth in risk assets and an improvement in pricing. This also strengthened Earnings Per Share (EPS) 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 (YoY) increase in profit before tax, growing from N179.8 billion in Q3 2021 to N202.5 billion in Q3 2022. Profit after tax equally grew by nine per cent from N160.6 billion to N174.3 billion 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, thereby facilitating the double-digit growth in the bottom line.
The continuing elevated yield environment affected the cost of funding which increased from 11.cper cent to 1.7 per cent in the current period. This affected the net interest margin (NIM), which dropped due to the immediate implementation of higher yields on interest-bearing liabilities. However, the NIM is expected to see a correction in subsequent quarters as the assets side is repriced correspondingly.
Total assets grew by 20 per cent from N9.45 trillion to N11.34 trillion in 2022, mainly driven by growth in customers’ deposits. Customer deposits grew by 24 per cent from N6.47 trillion in December 2021 to N8.04 trillion in September 2022 due to the market’s confidence in the brand.
Loans and advances also grew by 16 per cent from N3.5 trillion in December 2021 to N4.06 trillion in September 2022, boosting the Group’s interest income and displaying the Group’s appetite for high-yielding risk assets creation. As a result of this growth, the capital adequacy ratio reduced from 21 per cent to 19.1 per cent, while the liquidity ratio reduced from 71.6 per cent to 68.9 per cent.
In the year’s final quarter, management is determined to sustain the strong performance trajectory while adapting to changes in the regulatory environment and focusing on creative initiatives to mitigate inflationary trends, foreign exchange pressures and the growing competitive environment.
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