Zenith Bank pays final dividend of N2.70 after 10% rise in FY19 PAT
Zenith Bank Plc has declared that it would pay a final dividend of N2.50 for every 50 kobo shares, bringing the total dividend paid for FY 2019 to N2.80.
The bank, in a financial statement, released on Tuesday, February 23, noted that the final dividend was subject to the 10 percent withholding tax and approval at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
It was gathered that the meeting is expected to hold at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos on Tuesday, March 16, 2021, at 9am.
According to the statement, the cash reward would be paid on March 16 to shareholders whose names appear on the register of members as at March 8, 2021, and have completed the e-dividend registration.
It was revealed that the interest income for the year rose to N420.8 billion from N415.6 billion, while the interest expense reduced to N121.1 billion from N148.5 billion, leaving the company with a net interest income of N299.7 billion in contrast to N267.0 billion in the 2019 reporting year.
The net income on fees and commission decreased in the period under review to N79.3 billion from N100.1 billion, while trading gains moved up to N121.7 billion from N117.8 billion, with the other operating income rising to N50.7 billion from N14.2 billion.
The results also showed that personnel costs in the year increased to N79.3 billion from N77.9 billion, while the operating expenses jumped to N148.1 billion from N129.5 billion.
When the year’s activities were rounded up, the bank was, however, left with profit before tax of N255.9 billion versus N243.3 billion achieved a year earlier, while the profit after tax increased to N230.6 billion from N208.8 billion, with the earnings per share (EPS) moving higher to N7.34 from N6.65.
