June 26, (THEWILL) – Over 217 million shares of Zenith Bank were recorded in 17 trading days of June as investors scramble for the stocks of the Tieir-1 bank. Check by THEWILL revealed that the least amount was 4.58 million recorded on the 11th trading day, while 33.20 million was traded on the 5th trading day.
Daily and Weekly Reports of the NGX showed active trading on Zenith Bank stocks during the period, which often ranked among the tops on the ‘Traded’ and ‘Gainers’ tables. Listed on the prestigious Premium category of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), Zenith Bank ended last week’s activities with a gain of 0.23 percent to close at N21.65 share price, while 8.24 million shares volume was recorded in 432 deals. Its N679.74 billion market capitalization is among the highest of the listed companies.
“Zenith Bank is a premium stock; it is among the highest in demand because of the corporate governance quality, the robust assets and the high market integrity it commands,” said Jude Akaleme, a stock broker. Akaleme stated that since the publication of the banks FY 2021 and Q1 2022 reports, investors’ appetite for the bank’s stocks have risen significantly.
Zenith Bank Q1 2022 earnings rose by 22 percent hitting N191.5 billion as against N157.3 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2021. The bank recorded strong topline growth that reflected on the bottom line as the Group achieved an 11 percent increase in profit before tax (PBT) from N61.02 billion in Q1 2021 to N67.99 billion in Q1 2022.
Similarly, profit after tax also followed the growth trajectory with a 10 percent increase to N58.19 billion in Q1 2022 from N53.06 billion recorded in Q1 2021. An analysis of the report revealed that the growth in the topline was spurred by a rise in both interest income and non-interest income. Interest income grew by 25 percent, from N101.12 billion in Q1 2021 to N126.38 billion in Q1 2022, while non-interest income grew by 12 percent, from N51.20 billion to N57.23 billion.
The combined effects of the improvement in interest income on loans and advances helped to spur the growth in interest income and non-interest income.
Analysts attribute this to the bank’s ability to deploy its retail strategy which boosts customer base and leads to expanding its electronic banking income from the increased volume of transactions across all its channels.
Zenith Bank’s total assets grew by 9 percent from N9.45 trillion to N10.32 trillion in 2022, Customer deposits, a strong component of the assets, grew by 12 percent from N6.47 trillion in December 2021 to N7.25 trillion at the end of Q1 2022.
Loans and advances also grew by 6 percent, from N3.5 trillion in December 2021 to N3.7 trillion in March 2022. This development also helped to boost the net interest margin which improved from 6.0 percent in Q1 2021 to 7.3 percent in Q1 2022.
For over three decades, Zenith Bank has distinguished itself in the Nigerian financial services industry through superior service offerings, unique customer experience, and sound economic indices. The Bank remains a clear leader in the digital space with several firsts in deploying innovative products, solutions, and an assortment of alternative channels that ensure convenience, speed, and safety of transactions.
