Connect with us

Business

Zenith Bank seeks N100bn new capital after N63.4bn dividend

Published

on

Zenith Bank seeks N100bn new capital after N63.4bn dividend

A day after it announced that it would be paying N63.4 billion to shareholders as cash dividends for the 2016 business year, Zenith Bank on Tuesday indicated it would be raising new capital up to N100 billion to boost its balance sheet.

Zenith Bank plans to raise the N100 billion through a combination of share or bond sale and global depository receipts.

The bank also said it would seek approval to increase its share capital to N40 billion from N20 billion at the forthcoming annual general meeting scheduled for March 22, 2017.

The board of directors of Zenith Bank had on Monday recommended distribution of a total of N63.4 billion to shareholders of the Nigeria’s second most capitalised bank as cash dividend for the 2016 business year.

According to the dividend recommendation just released by the board of the bank, gross dividend payout would increase from N56.51 billion paid for the 2015 business year to N63.4 billion for the 2016 business year.

Read Also: Banks, local contractors groan under govt’s N2tn debt

Shareholders will receive a total dividend per share of N2.02 for the 2016 business year as against N1.80 paid for the 2015 business year. The bank, which had earlier paid interim dividend of 25 kobo, will be paying a final dividend of N1.77 to shareholders on its register as at close of business on March 10, 2017.

The proposed final dividend of N1.77 per share represents a dividend yield of 11.96 per cent at today’s opening price of N14.80k, a yield most analysts considered as attractive.

The audited report and account for the year ended December 31, 2016 showed that group gross earnings rose by 17.4 per cent from N432.54 billion in 2015 to N508 billion in 2016. Profit before tax also increased by 24.8 per cent from N125.62 billion to N156.75 billion. After taxes, net profit rose from N105.66 billion to N129.65 billion. Consequently, earnings per share increased from N3.36 to N4.12.

Shareholders of the bank are expected to approve the annual report and dividend recommendations among other things at the annual general meeting scheduled for March 22, 2017. The dividend will subsequently be paid March 23, 2017.

 

RipplesNigeria ….without borders, without fears

Click here to download the Ripples Nigeria App for latest updates

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now