The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank, Adaora Umeoji has attributed the bank's performance, to the execution of articulated strategies that's yielding results as the bank saw its gross earnings rise by 86 per cent to 3.9 trillion naira driven by a surge in interest income. CNBC Africa caught up with her in an exclusive chat.
The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank, Adaora Umeoji has attributed the bank's performance, to the execution of articulated strategies that's yielding results as the bank saw its gross earnings rise by 86 per cent to 3.9 trillion naira driven by a surge in interest income. CNBC Africa caught up with her in an exclusive chat. Take a look. We're excited about our 2024 result which reflects a sustained superlative performance across all our key performance indicators. Zenith Bank started operations 34 years ago through the vision of our founder and chairman, Dr. Jimu Viasierfar, who laid a solid foundation of strong corporate governance and the three-part of people, technology and service. We have leverage on all these three pillars to maintain our track record of excellence over the years. We have recorded an impressive growth in profitability, sound operational efficiency and robust capital adequacy. We have retained our pride of place as the best bank with the highest tier one capital in Nigeria for 15 consecutive years. Tier one capital currently stands at 3.19 trillion. We have sustained our superlative performance, surpassing our 2023 gross earnings by 86 per cent and achieving gross earnings of 3.97 trillion in 2024. Interest income of Zenith Bank surged by 183 per cent and non-interest income increased as well by 20 per cent. Our PBT also soared to 1.3 trillion. This is particularly impressive as we outperformed both our 2024 internal projections and analyst estimates. Our well articulated strategies for our corporate and retail banking markets yielded desired results for all of us in Zenith. I am really proud of the Zenith team for their outstanding performance and for recording the highest profits so far. Those are indeed numbers to be proud of. With this stellar performance, shareholders are looking forward to a dividend payout. Talk to us about what shareholders should expect. Zenith Bank has a track record of increased dividend payouts and will remain committed to delivering superior returns to our esteemed shareholders. To us at Zenith Bank, we demonstrate this as we declared and paid our interim dividends of 1 Naira per share in the course of the 2024 financial year. We have proposed a final dividend payout of 4 Naira which will bring the total dividend payout for the year ended December 31st to 2024 to 5 Naira per share as against the total of 4 Naira we paid last year. With over 40 billion units of shares, this would amount to about 200 billion in dividend payouts to our esteemed shareholders for 2024. Interestingly, Zenith Bank shares in the recent concluded capital raise will rank for dividend payments despite the fact that the verifications we have done late December 2024, they are going to still get dividend this year. That's very impressive for me and I'm happy for all that achievement. Absolutely. And our shareholders will be very happy. I'm sure they will be. Now all of this is coming in your first year as GMD of Zenith Bank. Talk to us about how you plan to sustain this momentum even in 2025. Zenith Bank has proven growth trajectory and we can see tremendous opportunities for growth in Nigeria with the GDP that grew by 3.84% year on year in the fourth quarter of 2024 and an inflation that at least went down to 23.18% year on year in February 2025. This shows that Nigerian economy is on a rebound and that the measures that the government has put in place are beginning to yield desired results. We are taking advantage of these growth prospects and also focus on global expansion and following our customers' businesses to locations and opportunities available in those areas. We recently opened our Paris branch and we'll continue to leverage on our robust network and reach to identify businesses where our customers are to be able to scale. And when we look at our earnings in terms of group earnings and bottom line, with all the expansion projects we are embarking upon, we believe that going to countries like Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Kenya and other regions in Africa will actually help us to increase our subsidiaries and then it will help us to grow significantly as well. So growth is on the front burner for us in Zenith Bank and then global expansion is an area we want to really leverage upon. Recently we also overhauled our IT infrastructure to a best-in-class technology which will be used to drive our electronic platform. Given the tremendous opportunity for growth in SME and retail businesses, we will continue to focus on these segments as well. Zenith Bank has really reached various segments of growth so far. We have attained a lot so far within my administration and within the period we won several awards and some of these awards that we've won lately are the Best Bank in Nigeria by Global Finance Award. We also won an award as the Bank of the Year in Nigeria 2024 by the Banker Financial Group in the UK and we thank our esteemed customers for this partnership and loyalty. We commit to them that they'll be in the forefront of our decisions and we want to continue to make our shareholders proud by actually delivering a superior return for their investment for them at all times. We are ready to build a first-in-class sustainable bank that will compete globally and outlive generations to come because Zenith is actually a dominant brand and we want to see how we can institutionalise it not just locally in Nigeria but in other economies. And that was the Group Managing Director and CEO of Zenith Bank Adeora Umelji.
Theme: Zenith Bank's exceptional financial performance and strategic direction under the leadership of Adaora Umeoji
Zenith Bank, one of Nigeria's leading financial institutions, has continued its impressive growth trajectory under the leadership of Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Adaora Umeoji. Umeoji attributes the bank's stellar performance to the execution of well-articulated strategies that have yielded outstanding results. In a recent exclusive interview with CNBC Africa, Umeoji highlighted the key factors driving Zenith Bank's success. The bank reported a remarkable 86% increase in gross earnings to 3.9 trillion naira, largely propelled by a surge in interest income. Umeoji emphasized the importance of Zenith Bank's core pillars of strong corporate governance, innovative technology, and exceptional customer service, laid down by the bank's founder and chairman, Dr. Jimu Viasierfar. These foundational principles have been instrumental in maintaining the bank's track record of excellence over the years. Key Points: 1. Impressive Financial Performance: Zenith Bank achieved record-breaking profitability with sound operational efficiency and robust capital adequacy. The bank's Tier one capital currently stands at 3.19 trillion naira, reinforcing its position as Nigeria's best bank in terms of tier one capital for 15 consecutive years. 2. Enhanced Shareholder Value: Shareholders can look forward to increased dividend payouts as Zenith Bank remains committed to delivering superior returns. The bank declared an interim dividend of 1 Naira per share and proposed a final dividend payout of 4 Naira per share for the year 2024, totaling 5 Naira per share, reflecting a significant increase from the previous year. 3. Future Growth and Expansion: Umeoji outlined Zenith Bank's growth strategy for 2025, focusing on leveraging Nigeria's economic rebound, global expansion, and technological advancements. The bank aims to explore opportunities in countries like Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, and Kenya while enhancing its IT infrastructure to drive electronic platforms and cater to the growing SME and retail segments. Quote: Reflecting on Zenith Bank's accomplishments, Umeoji expressed, "We are ready to build a first-in-class sustainable bank that will compete globally and outlive generations to come because Zenith is actually a dominant brand and we want to institutionalize it not just locally in Nigeria but in other economies." With a vision for continued growth, strategic expansion, and unwavering commitment to stakeholders, Zenith Bank under the leadership of Adaora Umeoji is well-positioned to maintain its position as a premier financial institution in Nigeria and beyond.
"We are ready to build a first-in-class sustainable bank that will compete globally and outlive generations to come because Zenith is actually a dominant brand and we want to institutionalize it not just locally in Nigeria but in other economies."
['Zenith Bank', 'Adaora Umeoji', 'financial performance', 'dividend payouts', 'growth strategy', 'Nigerian economy', 'global expansion']