Zenith Bank plans to pay N1.70 dividends to shareholders
Lagos - Shareholders of Zenith Bank Plc stocks may soon be smiling to the bank, if the forthcoming Zenith bank’s dividend payout of as much as N1.70 per share for the current financial year, is carried out.
Zenith Bank Plc has officially announced a change in its financial year end from June 30 to September 30, starting from this year, in what the bank described as a bid to further enhance shareholder value. The bank which normally operated a July to June financial year, recently released its twelve-month result showing “remarkable improvements” on all parameters.
The result showed a 67 per cent increase in Gross Earnings from N94.88 billion in 2007 to N158.29 billion as at June 30, 2008. Pre-tax profit for the period rose by 96 per cent from N25.67 billion to N50.28 billion and profit after tax hit N41.04 billion, representing a jump of 119 per cent from N18.77 billion the previous year.
The bank said with the twelve-month unaudited result, it is expected that the 15-month audited result for the period ending September 30, 2008 “would be even more impressive”.
Analysts and investors, who hailed the 12-month result, noted that the outstanding result would further endear the Zenith stock to shareholders who have reaped impressive returns on their investment since the bank went public in 2004.
Since then, shareholders of the bank have received a return of over 322 per cent (including capital gains, dividend payouts and bonuses) making the Zenith stock arguably the most coveted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
Zenith Bank said it had delivered on promises and maintained the lead in key areas, “driven by Zenith’s Bank’s strict adherence to good corporate governance, world class accounting and reporting standards as well as strong business reputation”.
Boosted by the growth pattern and performance over the years, Zenith Bank has earned impressive ratings from local and international agencies. Standard and Poor’s currently rates the bank BB-, which is the highest ever assigned to any Nigerian bank.
Also, Fitch Ratings currently rates Zenith Bank AA- (National), while Agusto & Co., Nigeria’s foremost rating agency, has for the ninth consecutive year rated Zenith Bank Triple A (AAA), saying “…the bank is a financial institution of impeccable financial condition and overwhelming capacity to meet obligations as and when they fall due’’.
Leave a Reply