Zenith Bank Plc has announced its unaudited results for the first quarter 2020, with the Group’s profit before tax (PBT) rising by 3% from the N57.3 billion posted in the corresponding quarter of 2019 to N58.8billion.
According to the unaudited account which was presented to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the increased profits benefited from the effects of continuing top-line growth and focused cost-of-funds optimisation.
Cost of funds declined significantly from 3.0percent in Q1, 2019 to 2.6percent in the quarter under review, translating to a 10percent decrease in interest expense dropping from N36.3 billion in March 2019 to N32.8 billion in the quarter.
Despite the drop, the current low yield environment, necessitated the re-pricing of interest-bearing assets which in turn resulted in a 13percent compression in net interest margin, decreasing from 8.9percent in March 2019 to 7.7percent in the current period.
The Group also recorded a 6percent increase in Gross Earnings from N158.1 billion in March 2019 to N166.8 billion for the period.
