Zenith Bank Plc has announced its unaudited results for the third quarter ended 30 September 2020 with with a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of N177 billion, representing a 1% growth over the ₦176 billion posted in the same period in the previous year.
According to the unaudited accounts which was presented to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), gross earnings were up 4% year-on-year (y-o-y) to ₦509 billion, driven by non-interest income which increased to ₦173 billion from ₦157 billion recorded at the end of Q3 2019.
Profit After Tax (PAT) grew by 6% to N159 billion from N150 billion in the corresponding period last year. The growth was driven by non-interest income which grew by 11% to ₦173 billion from ₦157 billion recorded at the end of Q3 2019.
Net interest income grew by 5% Year-on-Year (y-o-y) to ₦225 billion despite the drop in total interest income from ₦322 billion to ₦319 billion. Interest expense and cost of funds were down 13% and 27% to close at ₦94 billion and 2.2% respectively.
Total deposits closed at ₦5.2 trillion at the end of Q3 2020 up from ₦4.3 trillion in December 2019, dominated by low-cost deposits. Retail deposits grew by 58% to ₦1.7 trillion at the end of Q3 2020 up from ₦1.1 trillion as at December 2019.
In terms of asset quality, the Group’s Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio improved to 4.80% (FYE 2019: 4.95%), while loans and advances grew by 17 % from ₦2.5 trillion as at December 2019 to ₦2.9 trillion at the end of Q3 2020. The liquidity and capital adequacy ratios (CAR), at 67.4% (Bank: 52.5%) and 21.5% respectively at the end of Q3 2020, remain above regulatory thresholds of 30.0% and 15.0%.