BusinessDay... the voice of business: Zenith Bank earns N120bn in 9 months

Zenith Bank earns N120bn in 9 months
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Anonymous on 06 May, 2008 02:00:00
 
Zenith Bank plc has announced gross earnings of N120 billion for the nine months
ended March 31, 2008, indicating a 70 percent increase over the N70 billion
recorded for the same period in the last financial year.
The bank’s operating results released on the floor of the Nigerian Stock
Exchange (NSE) on Tuesday also showed that profit before taxation rose by 111
per cent from N19.25 billion recorded for the same period the previous year to
N40.63 billion.
Similarly, profit after tax rose by 137 per cent, up from N14.08 billion in
2007 financial year to N33.32 billion recorded in the current period.
Zenith Bank has also excited the financial market with the launch of three
mutual funds to raise N8 billion from the capital market through an Initial
Public Offering.
On offer for subscription are 500,000,000 units of the Zenith Equity Fund,
200,000,000 units of the Zenith Income Fund and 100,000,000 units of the Zenith
Ethical Fund at N10 per unit. The funds are to be managed by Zenith Capital, the
investment banking arm of Zenith Bank plc.
The funds have distinct features aimed at investors with varying risk
preferences and investment considerations and are open ended, meaning there is
no limit to the amount that can be invested either during or after the offer.
The Zenith Funds like all other open-ended funds, are very liquid as investors
have direct recourse to the Fund Manager in order to realize the prevailing
value of their investments.
The funds, which will enjoy economies of scale, will be diversified across
several sectors and securities therefore ensuring reduced volatility in each
portfolio.
All three funds serve as useful investing tools that can be used to create a
regular savings plan.