Zenith Bank Plc has reaffirmed its position as a market leader with a robust financial performance and ambitious growth plans.
At its recent Capital Markets Day, Adara Umeoji, group managing director, unveiled the bank’s strategic objectives and financial outlook, highlighting a strong trajectory towards surpassing N1 trillion in profit before tax in 2024.
The event provided a platform for Zenith Bank to showcase its financial performance, underpinned by a tier-1 capital of N1.8 trillion, shareholders’ funds of N2.3 trillion, market capitalisation of N1.3 trillion, a profit before tax of N796 billion, and a dividend of N4 per share for the year ended December 2023.
Umeoji expressed confidence in the bank’s ability to achieve over N1 trillion in profit before tax in 2024, backed by its strong financial performance, experienced leadership, and robust corporate culture.
To further solidify its position, Zenith Bank outlined its strategic focus on driving financial inclusion, expanding its corporate and retail banking footprint through digital channels, and establishing a fintech subsidiary, ZenPay. The bank also plans to expand its operations to France and other Francophone African countries.
Umeoji explained, “For us at Zenith, we won’t be left out. We are planning to go to the market to raise capital, and as it stands, Zenith Bank has the least amount of capital to raise.
“We are looking to raise N230 billion because we are already at N270.7 billion. That is the least capital to raise among our peers. We believe that Zenith Bank has what it takes. We have the capacity, the network, the balance sheet, the human capital, and the track record to achieve that. We are planning for the future, and the technology we have now is the best in the entire industry. It will help us to have a seamless process and integrate.”
Mukhtar Adam, the bank’s chief financial officer emphasised the bank’s consistent growth over the past five years, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) in revenue exceeding 27 percent. Despite economic challenges, Zenith Bank has maintained a steady upward trajectory, achieving a cumulative profit-before-tax growth of approximately 28 per cent over the same period.
Zenith Bank recently emerged as the Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria, in the World Finance Banking Awards 2024, retaining the award for the fourth consecutive year. The bank was also named Best Corporate Governance, Nigeria, for the third year running in the World Finance Corporate Governance Awards 2024. The awards, published in the Summer 2024 issue of World Finance Magazine, recognise the bank’s robust financial performance, superior customer service, sustainability initiatives, and corporate governance practices.
In its audited results for the year ended December 31, 2023, Zenith Bank achieved a triple-digit growth of 125 percent in gross earnings, from N945.6 billion reported in 2022 to N2.132 trillion in 2023.
