Zenith Bank Plc’s gross earnings rose by 22 per cent in the first quarter of 2022.
The lender’s earnings rose from N157.3bn in the first quarter of 2021 to N191.5bn in Q1, 2022.
The bank disclosed this in a statement on its unaudited results for the first quarter ended 31st March 2022.
From the unaudited statement of account presented to the Nigerian Exchange on Thursday, the strong double-digit growth in the topline led to an increase in the bottom line, as the Group recorded an 11 per cent year-on-year increase in profit before tax, growing from N61.02bn in Q1, 2021 to N67.99bn in Q1 2022.
Profit after tax grew by 10 per cent, from N53.06bn to N58.19bn over the same period.
The growth in the topline arose from both interest income and non-interest income.
Interest income grew by 25 per cent, from N101.12bn in Q1 2021 to N126.38bn in Q1 2022, while non-interest income grew by 12 per cent, from N51.2bn to N57.23bn.
“The growth in interest income and non-interest income arose from the combined effects of an improvement in interest income on loans and advances (as risk assets continue to grow and pricing is gradually improving) and an improvement in non-interest income as the bank continues to deploy its retail strategy, thereby acquiring more customers and expanding its electronic banking income from the increased volume of transactions across all its channels,” the statement said.
Total assets grew by nine per cent, from N9.45tn to N10.32tn in 2022, mainly driven by growth in customer deposits.
The customer deposits grew by 12 per cent, from N6.47tn in December 2021 to N7.25tn in March 2022.
Savings account balance, which is solely retail, grew by over N68bn and was a validation of the robust customer acquisition strategy and versatile electronic platforms and digital channels, the statement said.
Loans and advances also grew by six per cent, from N3.5tn in December 2021 to N3.7tn in March 2022, boosting the Group’s interest income and displaying its appetite for high-yielding risk assets creation.
This development also helped to boost the net interest margin, as it improved from 6.0 per cent in March 2021 to 7.3 per cent in the current period, while the capital adequacy ratio improved slightly from 21.1 per cent to 22.1 per cent.
“Going into the remainder of 2022, the Group will continue to focus on sustainable growth across all its business segments and deploy technology platforms and digital assets intuitively to serve its various customers’ needs to deliver enhanced returns to its stakeholders,” the statement said.
