Zenith Bank’s half-year profit falls 19% amid shrinking revenue

Zenith Bank logged a 19.1 per cent slide in net profit for the first half of 2026, relative to a year ago, its latest audited earnings report showed.

This marks the second time in a row that the big lender would report a profit drop at the half-year period.

Apart from a contraction in revenue, which set the bank up for a fall in earnings, cost pressures also played a part in weakening the bottom line.

Post-tax profit for the financial institution declined to N430.8 billion from N532.2 billion in the same period of last year as earnings directly took a hit from a surging tax bill, which saw taxation more than double to N206.8 billion from N93.4 billion.

In the first six months of last year, Zenith Bank’s after-tax profit diminished 7.9 per cent, compared to a year earlier, in the face of soaring expenses.

In the period under review, gross earnings plunged by as much as almost a quarter to N2.5 trillion on account of weaker interest and similar income, the bank’s top revenue source, and a substantial trading loss.

Net interest income, the difference between what a bank earns on its interest-bearing assets and what it pays on its liabilities, fell 7.4 per cent to N1.3 trillion.

Lower interest on treasury bills and on placements with banks and discount houses triggered the slide.

The lender cut back the cash it set aside as a provision for toxic assets by 81.5 per cent to N141.1 billion, softening the blow on net interest income after impairment charges, which was up by 87.8 per cent.

Zenith Bank’s performance also took a hit from trading losses of N92.2 billion, in contrast to trading gains of N467.8 billion a year earlier, following a huge loss on other trading books.

Operating expenses rose 9.7 per cent to N451.3 billion, spurred by higher spending on information technology as well as fuel & maintenance.

Pre-tax profit climbed to N637.6 billion from N625.6 billion. Total assets within the period jumped 3.8 per cent to N32.6 trillion.

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The bank recently opened a branch in Manchester, UK and is on track to complete a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange by 2027.

The lender has announced an interim dividend per share of N1.5, which compares to the N1.25 it paid for the same period of last year. That puts the potential dividend payout for the period at N61.6 billion.