Zenith Bank Plc has announced gross earnings of N781 billion in the first quarter of 2024 which ended on March 31.

Zenith Bank noted that its gross earnings rose by 189 per cent from N270 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2023 to N781 billion in Q1 2024.

The bank disclosed this in its unaudited results for the first quarter of 2024 submitted to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Friday, May 3.

It stated that its profit before tax (PBT) rose to N320 billion in Q1 2024, representing an increase of 270 per cent from the n87 billion reported in Q1 2023.

Zenith Bank disclosed that its profit after tax (PAT) equally grew significantly by 291 per cent from the N66 billion reported in Q1 2023 to N258 billion in 2024.

Zenith Bank said interest and non-interest income contributed significantly to the growth in gross earnings, adding that the interest income grew by 155 per cent from the N192 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2023 to N489 billion in Q1 2024.

The bank noted: “The growth in interest income is due to the repricing of risk assets, owing to the increase in the central bank’s Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), which currently stands at 24.75 per cent.

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“The growth in net interest income is primarily due to the increase in fees and commissions as well as trading grains.”

Zenith Bank also reported an impairment charge of N56 billion for Q1 2024, up from N8 billion recorded in Q1 2023, saying this was attributable to significant growth in risk assets, primarily driven by the revaluation of its USD loans, which necessitated additional impairment on the bank’s foreign currency-denominated loans.

It noted that the cost of funds grew by 48 per cent from 2.7 per cent in Q1 2023 to 4 per cent in Q1 2024 due to the high-interest rate environment, while interest expense increased by 157 per cent from N71 billion reported in Q1 2023 to N182 billion in Q1 2024.

The bank revealed that the year-on-year (YoY) increase in interest expense, net interest margin (NIM) grew by 20 per cent from 6.9 per cent in the three months which ended in March 2023 to 8.3 per cent in March 2024.

Zenith Bank added that the Return on Average Equity (ROAE) and Return on Average Assets (ROAA) increased year-on-year (YoY) by 114 per cent and 119 per cent, respectively, due to improved profitability.

Zenith Bank said gross loans, which are largely funded by customer deposits, grew by 30 per cent from N7.1 trillion in December 2023 to N9.2 trillion in March 2024.

It noted that customer deposits also grew by 11 per cent from N15.2 trillion in December 2023 to N16.8 trillion in March 2024, “underpinning continued customer confidence in the Zenith brand”, adding that total assets increased by 19 per cent to N24 trillion within the same period.

The bank said it has consistently maintained all prudential ratios well above the minimum regulatory requirement, noting that at the end of Q1 2024, Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) and Liquidity Ratio stood at 20 per cent and 67 per cent, respectively.

The Star