Zenith Bank Shows Resilience As Gross Earnings Rises By 4% In Q3 2020
By Our Correspondent
Zenith Bank Plc has announced its unaudited results for the third quarter ended 30 September 2020 with gross earnings rising by 4 per cent to N509 billion from N491 billion posted in the same period in the previous year.
This performance demonstrates the Group’s resilience against the backdrop of a challenging macro-economic environment brought about by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
According to the unaudited account which was presented to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), this growth was driven by non-interest income which grew by 11 per cent to N173 billion from N157 billion recorded at the end of Q3 2019, reflecting the Group’s increasingly diversified business model. The Group’s Profit before Tax (PBT) rose marginally to N177 billion at the end of Q3 2020, representing a 1per cent growth over the N176 billion posted in the corresponding period last year.
The result also demonstrates the Group’s ability to deliver optimal pricing for its interest-bearing assets and liabilities in a declining yield environment, as net interest income grew by 5per cent Year-on-Year (y-o-y) to N225 billion despite the drop in total interest income from N322 billion to N319 billion. Interest expense and cost of funds were down 13 per cent and 27per cent to close at N94 billion and 2.2 per cent respectively, reflecting the Group’s robust treasury and liquidity management.
Total deposits closed at N5.2 trillion at the end of Q3 2020 up from N4.3 trillion in December 2019, dominated by low-cost deposits. Retail deposits grew impressively by 58 per cent to N1.7 trillion at the end of Q3 2020 up from N1.1 trillion as at December 2019, underpinned by the continuous expansion and improvement of the Group’s digital platforms.
In terms of asset quality, the Group’s Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio improved to 4.80 per cent (FYE 2019: 4.95 per cent ), despite growing loans and advances by 17 per cent from N2.5 trillion as at December 2019 to N2.9 trillion at the end of Q3 2020, affirming the Group’s prudent credit risk management. The liquidity and capital adequacy ratios (CAR), at 67.4 per cent (Bank: 52.5 per cent) and 21.5 per cent respectively at the end of Q3 2020, remain above regulatory thresholds of 30.0 per cent and 15.0 per cent.
Zenith Bank Plc has continued to demonstrate resilience and industry leadership. In recognition of its track record of excellent performance, Zenith Bank was voted as the Best Commercial Bank in Nigeria 2019 by the World Finance and the Best Digital Bank in Nigeria 2019 by Agusto and Co. The Bank was also recognised as Bank of the Year and Best in Retail Banking at the 2019 BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BOFI) Awards. More recently, the Bank emerged as the Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria, for the third consecutive year, in the Banker Magazine “Top 500 Banking Brands 2020”, Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital in the “2020 Top 1000 World Banks” Ranking published by The Banker Magazine, Best Bank in Nigeria 2020 in the Global Finance World’s Best Banks Awards 2020, and Bank of the Decade (People’s Choice) at the ThisDay Awards 2020.
