Jim Ovia to Receive N25.4 Billion Dividend as Bank Profit Jumps 52.5%

Zenith Bank’s founder and chairman, Jim Ovia, will receive a staggering N25.4 billion dividend for the 2024 financial year following the bank’s spectacular earning performance.

The payment of the dividend on April 15, 2025, follows the bank’s historic profit after tax that increased by 52.5% to N1.03 trillion, above the N676.9 billion recorded last year.

The bank’s Board of Directors has declared a final dividend of N4.00 a share, on top of the previous N1.00 a share interim dividend to bring the total dividend to N5.00 per share. That represents a significant increment from last year’s total dividend of N4.00 per share. The largest shareholder and owner of 5,082,800,739 shares of the company, Ovia, will be compensated N25,414,003,695 dividends.

The total dividend paid by the bank in 2024 is N141.28 billion, significantly higher than it was in 2023, at N106.74 billion. The dividend is subject to a 10% withholding tax, as provided for in Nigeria tax legislation. Gross revenue by the bank increased considerably to N3.9 trillion, driven predominantly by interest income, increasing more than two times to N2.7 trillion. The majority of the bank’s revenues were generated locally in Nigeria and accounted for N3.5 trillion of the N3.97 trillion net consolidated revenue.

The sound performance of the bank is an indication of the robustness of Nigeria’s banking sector, which is still benefiting from higher returns on government securities and expanding loan book. With inflationary pressures remaining in the system, analysts expect the Central Bank of Nigeria’s tight money policy to underpin tier-one bank profitability in the short term.