Data Shows Jim Ovia Set to Become N2bn Richer as Zenith Bank Announces Highest 6-Month Profit

• Zenith Bank's Chairman, Jim Ovia, is set to receive over N5 billion in dividends from his shares in the bank
• This follows the bank's impressive performance in the first six months of 2023, which saw earnings jump near N1 trillion
• Ovia is the largest single shareholder in the bank, with direct and indirect shareholdings of over 5 billion

Zenith Bank Plc, one of Nigeria's largest banks, has announced gross earnings of N967.3 billion for the half year ended June 2023.

This is not only the biggest half-year earnings for the bank in history, it is also a 138.95% jump when compared to N404.8 billion reported in 2022.

The strong financial numbers are thanks to the surge in foreign currency revaluation gain.

Zenith Bank rewards shareholders

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In a separate announcement, Zenith Bank revealed that its shareholders will receive an interim dividend of 50 kobo for every 50k share held, amounting to approximately N15.70 billion in payouts.

In light of this, Zenith Bank's founder and chairman, Jim Ovia, the bank's largest shareholder, Legit.ng calculation shows that will receive a whopping N2.53 billion from the total dividend payments.

This is higher than the N1.52 billion in was paid in the first half of 2022.

Details from Zenith Bank's financial statement shows that Ovia owns a total of 5.07 billion units of shares in the bank.

The breakdown reveals that he owns a direct share of 3.55 billion units and an indirect share of 1.53 billion units.

Snapshot of Zenith Bank financial result for HI, 2023

Zenith Bank Plc has posted a profit after tax of N291.73 billion for the first six months of 2023, an increase from N111.413 billion in the corresponding period.

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Profit before tax stood at N350.36 billion, compared to N130 billion in the first half of 2022.

Additionally, the bank paid N58.62 billion in income tax to the government for the first half of 2023.

Billionaire pays over N16bn to buy out Ardova shareholders

Meanwhile, in another report, Legit.ng revealed that Ardova PLC has decided to become a private company.

The owner, Abdulwasiu Sowami, has decided to buy out minority shareholders to take complete control.

The deal failed to materialise for months because minority shareholders were unhappy with the amount their shares were bought for

Source: Legit.ng