Zenith Bank Plc has expressed its readiness to reward its shareholders with improved dividend payout of N94.19bn in fulfillment of its initial promise.
The bank made this known during its 30th annual general meeting in Lagos, its shareholders unanimously approved the proposed final dividend of N2.70 per share, bringing the total dividend payment for the 2020 financial year to N3 per share with a total value of N94.19bn.
This declaration was obtained from a financial statement of the bank titled ‘Zenith Bank rewards shareholders with an improved dividend payout of N94.19bn’.
This is coming on heels of the recent release of the bank’s audited financial results for the 2020 financial year.
The audited financial results, stated that the profit before tax rose by five percent to N255.9bn from N243.3bn reported in the previous year despite a challenging macro-economic environment exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The increase arose from a mixture of growth in the topline and a significant reduction in interest expense from N148.5bn in 2019 to N121.1bn in 2020, significantly increasing the net interest income from N267bn in 2019 to N299.7bn in 2020.
Recently, Techeconomy.ng reported that the bank had declared that it would pay a final dividend of N2.50 for every 50 kobo shares, bringing the total dividend paid for FY 2019 to N2.80.
The bank, in a financial statement, released on Tuesday, February 23, noted that the final dividend was subject to the 10 percent withholding tax and approval at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
The meeting was expected to hold at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos on Tuesday, March 16, 2021, at 9am.
According to the statement, the cash reward would be paid on March 16 to shareholders whose names appear on the register of members as at March 8, 2021, and have completed the e-dividend registration.
It was revealed that the interest income for the year rose to N420.8 billion from N415.6 billion, while the interest expense reduced to N121.1 billion from N148.5 billion, leaving the company with a net interest income of N299.7 billion in contrast to N267.0 billion in the 2019 reporting year
