Zenith Bank Races Trillion

Zenith Bank Plc is making significant strides toward achieving a trillion naira valuation, driven by its impressive earnings performance in the first quarter of 2023. While it hasn’t reached this milestone yet, it has a higher chance of becoming one of the top-performing banks on the Nigerian Exchange market.

Despite the stable earnings and dividend payments of Nigerian banks, none of them have managed to achieve a trillion naira valuation on the local bourse. However, two leading financial stocks, Zenith Bank Plc and GTCO Plc, have come close. Zenith Bank’s market valuation surpassed N930 billion before declining to N910 billion in the last trading session of May.

Data from the local bourse indicates that the bank has recorded a year-to-date return of 23.40%, largely driven by improved sentiment in May 2023, where the stock rose by 27%. Nonetheless, its share price experienced a 2.4% loss, settling at N29 on the last trading day in May. Stockbrokers informed Daily Global News that Zenith Bank recorded a daily transaction value of N1.262 billion in 773 trades.

GTCO Plc, on the other hand, saw its market valuation drop to N845 billion despite the rally in the equities market. Meanwhile, FBNH surpassed the N500 billion mark, achieving a significant valuation jump. Access Holdings Plc also experienced a market re-rating of its shares, pushing its valuation above N437 billion, a level it hadn’t reached before, despite its acquisition spree over the years and its large balance sheet size.

In the tier I category, UBA Plc holds the lowest market valuation, worth N339 billion, significantly lower than Stanbic IBTC Bank, which settled above N518 billion.

Zenith Bank has been consistently recognized with local and international accolades. After its remarkable earnings jump in 2022, the bank rewarded shareholders with a dividend of N3.20 per share, amounting to a total dividend value of N100.47 billion. The bank’s gross earnings also surged by 41% year on year in the first quarter of 2023, as stated in its unaudited financial statement.

Overall, the financial service group witnessed a 13% expansion in profit after tax, rising from ₦58.2 billion to ₦66 billion during the same period.