Nigeria’s banking powerhouse, Zenith Bank, has unveiled impressive financial results for the first half of 2023, featuring an astounding 161.85 percent surge in profits. This remarkable achievement has propelled Jim Ovia, one of Nigeria’s most prominent bankers, to receive an interim dividend of N2.54 billion ($3.24 million) from his stake in the bank.
Jim Ovia, widely acknowledged as Nigeria’s wealthiest banker and a prominent figure in Africa’s financial services industry, is set to reap substantial rewards from Zenith Bank’s robust performance. The bank’s distribution of interim dividends follows an outstanding financial performance during H1 2023, reflecting the substantial profits generated.
Zenith Bank’s recently released financial report reveals a staggering leap in profits, from N111.41 billion ($141.95 million) in the first half of 2022 to a remarkable N291.73 billion ($371.7 million) during the same period in 2023. This triple-digit percentage increase can be attributed, in part, to a significant surge in the group’s interest income, which skyrocketed from N241.72 billion ($306.4 million) to N415.42 billion ($526.6 million).
Despite incurring an impairment charge of N207.93 billion ($263.6 million) related to its financial and non-financial instruments, Zenith Bank delivered an exceptional profit in H1 2023. This remarkable achievement was buoyed by a substantial foreign currency revaluation gain of more than N355.6 billion ($451 million) for the same period.
Zenith Bank’s extraordinary financial performance has led its board of directors to propose an interim dividend of N0.50 ($0.00063) per share, marking a 40-percent increase from the interim dividend of N0.30 ($0.00038) per share paid to shareholders in 2022.
Jim Ovia, who holds a significant 16.18-percent stake in Zenith Bank, equivalent to 5,081,255,311 shares, is poised to receive N2.54 billion ($3.24 million) in interim dividends. This substantial dividend payout is in addition to his considerable final dividend earnings earlier this year.
Zenith Bank’s outstanding financial performance reaffirms its position as a frontrunner in Nigeria’s banking sector, while Jim Ovia’s substantial dividend earnings underscore his prominent role in the nation’s banking and business landscape.
