Zenith Bank Group reported a pre-tax profit of ₦928.80 billion for the nine months ended September 2026, up 1.24 per cent from ₦917.41 billion in the corresponding period of 2025.
Third-quarter pre-tax profit stood at ₦290.85 billion, compared with ₦276.6 billion in the second quarter of the year and ₦291.7 billion a year earlier.
Lower impairment charges supported pre-tax earnings despite declining gross earnings and trading losses.
However, a higher tax charge pushed profit after tax down by 11.56 per cent to ₦675.83 billion.
The main support for earnings was a sharp cut in impairment charges, which fell by 70.52 per cent to ₦230.77 billion from ₦782.76 billion, a reduction of ₦551.99 billion.
This helped absorb a reversal in trading performance, from a gain of ₦277.65 billion to a loss of ₦229.19 billion.
Interest income declined by 4.52 per cent to ₦2.62 trillion.
Interest earned on customer loans increased to ₦1.44 trillion from ₦1.36 trillion, but treasury-bill income fell to ₦572.99 billion from ₦740.50 billion.
Income from government and other bonds also declined.
Interest expense fell faster than interest income, dropping by 15.41 per cent to ₦688.73 billion.
Interest expense on borrowed funds declined to ₦64.93 billion from ₦196.00 billion, helping to keep net interest income broadly stable.
Fee income provided additional support, as net fee and commission income rose by 26.56 per cent.
Fees from electronic products increased to ₦77.17 billion from ₦59.06 billion.
Other operating income reached ₦106.54 billion, supported by loan recoveries of ₦61.79 billion.
Nigeria remained the largest geographical revenue contributor, generating ₦2.33 trillion, equivalent to approximately 81.38 per cent of consolidated gross earnings before allocating eliminations.
Revenue from Nigeria declined by 17.59 per cent.
Rest-of-Africa revenue rose by 4.56 per cent to ₦360.10 billion, while European revenue fell by 11.13 per cent to ₦176.16 billion.
Costs continued to climb, with other operating expenses increasing by 17.57 per cent to ₦625.61 billion, including higher information technology, fuel and maintenance expenses.
Personnel expenses rose by 17.06 per cent to ₦213.15 billion.
The tax charge increased by 65.12 per cent to ₦252.97 billion, which explains why after-tax profit declined despite the modest rise in pre-tax earnings.
The balance sheet expanded, with loans reaching ₦11.64 trillion and deposits ₦27.11 trillion.
Zenith Bank’s shares traded at ₦119 each at the close of trading on Friday, October 30, 2026, down 0.83 per cent.
The stock was also down 11.2 per cent month-to-date.
