City, Nigeria – Na wetin happen? Zenith Bank don chop belleful for di first half of 2025, but no be all rosy pics wey dem dey show. For di audited financial report wey dem submit to di Nigerian Exchange, na N532 billion be di net profit. But e get as e be, na 7.9% drop compared to di same time for 2024 when dem make N578 billion conquer dem profit chart.
As naija people dey always yan, ‘no be wetin you talk, na wetin you fit deliver we dey check!’ So, earnings per share don drop from N18.4 to N12.95. Dat one fit make any shareholder dey shout ‘Chai!’ (No be small wahala). Analysts don talk say di banking sector dey feel di squeeze from weak trading income and plenty credit impairment charges like say na dem dey carry heavy load wan cross river.
But wait o, e no be all bad news! Di board still manage propose interim dividend of N1.25 per share, wey be 25% increase over di N1.00 wey dem pay last year. If you calculate am, na 1.9% dividend yield base on last closing price of N66.95 per share. (Abeg, make dem no catch you dey laugh like say dem dey divide national cake).
Na better interest rate environment dey support banks as Cordros Capital talk say interest income jump reach N1.84 trillion, wetin na 60% increase year on year. E good as money wey dey come from customer loans rise by 53.3% to N935.75 billion. But na so dem dey vex for di interest expense wey only rise 11.5% to N484.53 billion. All dis numbers dey show say e no dey easy to balance bottom line and bottomless pot!
Meanwhile, non-interest income don fall like una favorite football club wey dey relegation zone. E don drop by 31.8% to N613.15 billion with lower gains on investment securities. But make I yarn di gist wey dey sweet: net fees and commissions rise small from N128.06 billion, plus di FX revaluation gains wey pass N11 billion – na wah!
Operating income no be big hero too, e just manage increase by 0.7% to N1.21 trillion, while operating expenses dey rise like di price of food wey no dey come down again – 23.2% up to N581.43 billion. Wetin all dis figures dey show na say naija banks dey struggle like politician after election, despite say pretax profit don waka down to N625.63 billion.
So, wetin we fit conclude? Zenith Bank still dey show signs of life, but they need to wake up sharp sharp! With all dis financial gymnastics, dem need more strategic moves to stabilize success for future. Na we go keep our fingers crossed as dem try navigate di financial wahala wey dey loom!
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