Zenith Bank surmounts macroeconomic headwinds with double-digit Q3 2022 gross earnings

Zenith Bank Plc has announced its unaudited results for the third quarter ended 30 September 2022, recording a remarkable double-digit growth of 20% in gross earnings from NGN518.7 billion reported in Q3 2021 to NGN620.6 billion in Q3 2022.

This performance demonstrates the Group’s resilience against a challenging macroeconomic environment.

According to the unaudited account presented to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), the growth in the topline was driven by interest and non-interest income growth. Interest income grew by 27% from NGN308.8 billion to NGN390.8 billion, driven majorly by growth in risk assets and an improvement in pricing.

This also strengthened Earnings Per Share (EPS) by 9% to NGN5.55.
This double-digit growth in the topline also aided the bottom line, as the Group also recorded a 13% year-on-year (YoY) increase in profit before tax, growing from NGN179.8 billion in Q3 2021 to NGN202.5 billion in Q3 2022. Profit after tax equally grew by 9% from NGN160.6 billion to NGN174.3 billion in the same period.

Growth in non-interest income was enabled by the Group’s retail strategy, with continued substantial customer acquisition driving transactions, deposit growth and growth in electronic banking income

Due to inflationary pressure and the rising cost of doing business, operating costs grew by 17%. However, this was below the growth in gross earnings (20%), thereby facilitating the double-digit growth in the bottom line.

The continuing elevated yield environment affected the cost of funding which increased from 1.4% to 1.7% in the current period. This affected the net interest margin (NIM), which dropped due to the immediate implementation of higher yields on interest-bearing liabilities. However, the NIM is expected to see a correction in subsequent quarters as the assets side is repriced correspondingly.