BREAKING: Zenith Bank reports 6.1% increase in profit to N244.6bn

Zenith Bank Plc on Monday announced 6.1 per cent increase in profit to N244.6bn, according to its audited result and accounts for full year ended December 31, 2021.

The most profitable bank in Nigeria had reported N230.6bn profit in 2020 audited result and accounts.

The audited result and accounts by Zenith Bank is the first lender to release audited results on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).

The lender’s profit before tax also grew by 9.6 per cent to N280.37bn in 2021 from N255.86bn reported in 2020.

For the year under review, the management of Zenith bank proposed a final dividend of N2.80kobo for every share of 50kobo, bringing the total dividend for the financial year ended December 31, 2021 to N3.10kobo.

The group reported 10 per cent increase in gross earnings to N765.6bn in 2021 from N696.45bn in 2020.

Zenith bank’s total assets increased by 11 per cent, growing from N8.48tn in 2020 to N9.45tn in 2021, mainly driven by growth in customers’ deposits.

With the steady recovery in economic activities, the Group prudently grew its gross loans by 20per cent, from N2.9tn in 2020 to N3.5tn in 2021 with moderated NPL ratio from 4.29 per cent to 4.19 per cent YoY.

The capital adequacy ratio reduced from 23 per cent to 21 per cent while liquidity grew from 66.2 per cent to 71.6 per cent. Both prudential ratios are still well above regulatory thresholds.