By Modupe Gbadeyanka
One of the most capitalised banks in Nigeria, Zenith Bank Plc, has released its financial statements for the third quarter of 2017.
Zenith Bank released its Q3 earnings to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday, October 19, 2017.
In the financial statements, the lender grew its gross earnings to N531.3 billion in the third quarter of this year from N380.4 billion in the third quarter of last year.
Also, its net interest income stood at N201.5 billion as at September 30, 2017 in contrast to N189.8 billion as at September 30, 2016.
However, Zenith Bank’s operating expenses closed at negative N107.8 billion in the period under review compared with negative N83 billion in the corresponding period of last year.
But the profit before tax rose to N152.6 billion as at September 30, 2017, from N116.6 billion as at September 30, 2016, while the profit after tax ended at N129.2 billion in the period under review against N95.4 billion a year ago.
In addition, the bank’s earnings per share (EPS) rose significantly during the period by 35.6 percent to N4.11k from N3.3k last year.
Dipo Olowookere 
Aduragbemi Omiyale