Posted by By Omoh Gabriel, Business Editor on
LAGOS - ZENITH Bank Plc will be paying a dividend of N1.10 per share to its shareholders, having declared a dividend of N6.6 billion.....
LAGOS - ZENITH Bank Plc will be paying a dividend of N1.10 per share to its shareholders, having declared a dividend of N6.6 billion in its 2005 annual account. The amount is the highest in the industry post consolidation..
The bank, which announced its first result after consolidation, has also emerged the biggest bank in the country with full-year result showing a total assets and contingents of N714.51 billion for the financial year ended June 2006. This post consolidation result represents an impressive 92.73 per cent growth from the N370.72 billion recorded the previous year and confers the industry leadership on Zenith Bank on account of total assets base.
The bank also excited the financial market and shareholders with the news of a dividend payout of N6.6 billion up from the N4.2 billion dividend in the previous year. The amount, capital market operators said, is the biggest ever by any bank in the country. Shareholders of the bank have a lot to celebrate as they are guaranteed a dividend per share of N1.10, the highest from any bank in the 2005/2006 financial year. This represents a 57.14 per cent increase over the 70 kobo per share paid last year.
The results released on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in Lagos yesterday also showed a strong performance on all other parameters. For instance, gross earnings for the year stood at N58.22 billion, up from the N34.91 billion recorded in the previous year, indicating a dominance in its market share. Shareholders funds for the same period jumped by 146.16 per cent from N37.78 billion as at the end of June 2005 to N93.80 billion, the largest so far by published financial statements of any bank. This was boosted by the N53.63 billion raised through a highly successful public offer conducted earlier in the year.
Profit before taxation for the period under review was N15.15 billion as against the N9.16 billion recorded in the previous year, representing a 65.39 per cent increase.