Directors of Zenith Bank Plc, on Friday presented its audited financials for the half-year ended June 30, 2026 indicating a 24.63% slowdown in gross earnings owing partly to trading losses it suffered, a situation made worse by the N113.392bn or 121.34% jump in tax provisions, which left after tax profit N101.54bn or 19.09% down.
Despite the drop in net profit, the board proposed an interim dividend of N1.50 per share, an improvement over the N1.25 each paid in the corresponding period of 2025. The dividend will be paid electronically on October 30, 2026 to shareholders whose names appear on the register of members at the close of business on October 23, while Global Depository Receipt (GDR) holders will be paid afterwards.
According to the result, gross earnings stood at N1.899tr, compared to N2.52tr in the similar period of 2025, with interest and similar income contributing N1.676tr, as against N1.839tr in the first half of 2025. Interest and similar income for the period was also mainly driven by loans and advances to customers which yielded N945.846bn from the N935.752bn recorded in the prior half-year, followed by N406.215bn from treasury bills which fell from N522.757bn; while government and other bonds fetched N250.701bn from N258.727bn. Placement with banks and discount houses raked in N72.263bn from N121.084bn within the period.
Interest and similar expense was constrained at N421.8bn when compared to the previous N484.525bn, boosted by the N195.933bn the bank paid as interest on time deposits, while N118.625bn was paid on current accounts from N111.38bn; while savings accounts cost the bank N72.739bn from N61.695bn. This left net interest income at N1.254tr against prior half-year’s N1.354tr.
The half-year performance could have been significantly worse but for the huge containment of impairment charge on financial instruments at N141.119bn, as against N762.054bn in the corresponding period of 2025, with impairment charges on loans and advances dropping to N129.359bn from N791.196bn. Net interest income after impairment charge, therefore, stood at N1.113tr from N592.67bn.
Total fee on commission income rose to N244.438bn from N196.427bn. Account maintenance fee contributed N52.763bn from N43.224bn; fees on electronic products rose from N36.397bn to N51.519bn; commission on letters of credit rose to N32.863bn from N28.453bn; income from financial guarantee contracts issued increased from N25.148bn to N31.137bn; just as credit related fees rose to N20.09bn from N11.159bn; among others. Fee on commission expense dropped slightly from N68.364bn to N65.664bn; resulting in a surge in Net income on fees and commissions from N128.063bn to N178.774bn.
Trading losses amounted to N92.244bn from the N467.792bn gain reported in 2025H1, as the loss on other trading books dropped to N171.253bn from N483.223bn. The notes to the account revealed that this loss included the “N284.90 billion realised loss on foreign currency trading gains for Group and Bank respectively (30 June 2025: N268.49 billion, gain on foreign currency trading gain). Also included in Loss/Gain on other trading books is unrealised gain on derivatives of N110.6 billion for Group and N91.6 billion for Bank (Group and Bank 30 June 2025: N192.48 billion).”
Similarly, gain on treasury bills at face value stood at N75.054bn as against the previous N22.64bn loss; while gain on bonds fell from N5.53bn to N2.358bn; and interest income on trading bonds contributed N1.597bn from N1.679bn. Other operating income also soared to N71.629bn from N17.291bn, helped by the N38.355bn foreign currency revaluation gain from N11.133bn in the first half of 2025; as well as the N29.667bn loan recovered, compared to the prior N11.96bn, which “represents amount recovered for previously written-off facilities. The amount is recognised on a cash basis only,” the group noted.
Impairment credit on non-financial instruments was nil, compared to the previous N1.24bn; depreciation of property and equipment rose from N27.409bn to N35.423bn; while amortization of intangible assets amounted to N8.557bn from N8.163bn.
Operating expenses for the period rose to N451.327bn from N411.287bn; driven by the N143.217bn paid as levy to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), a slight decline from the previous half-year’s N143.836bn; followed by the N75.896bn spent on information technology which rose from N49.878bn; ahead of the N56.986bn paid for fuel and maintenance, a rise from N44.683bn; while N34.556bn was paid to the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) as deposit insurance premium for the period, down from N36.844bn.
A significant disclosure in the report is the drop in directors’ emoluments from N6.504bn to just N1.364bn, after executive compensation dropped from N5.879bn possibly due to the retirement of Jim Ovia, the founder/chief executive and later chairman after over three decades on the board, to just N633 million.
Personnel expenses rose marginally from N134.568bn to N138.451bn; opee3rating expenses from N411.287bn to N451.327bn; following which profit before tax rose from N625.629bn to N637.603bn. Following the jump in tax expenses from N93.449bn to N206.841bn, profit after tax closed the period at N430.762bn, translating to Earnings Per Share of N10.48, from N532.18bn, or N12.95 in the first half of 2025.
The balance sheet showed total assets of N32.645tr in the 2026 half-year, up from N31.458tr at the end of December 2025, with loan and advances accounting for N12.048tr from N10.448tr; while total liabilities stood at N27.759tr from N26.533tr, the bulk of which was the N26.347tr customer deposits which jumped from N24.329tr as of December 31, 2025, which shareholders” funds accounting for N4.886tr, slightly down from N4.924tr.
