Riding an impressive 118 percent Year-to-Date (YtD) stock surge on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), Zenith Bank Plc is rewarding shareholders with interim dividend payout of N61.60 billion for the half-year (H1) ended June 30, 2026.
The tier-1 lender’s board proposed a higher interim dividend of N1.50 per share (up from N1.25 in H1’2025) across its 41.07 billion outstanding shares, rewarding equity holders as its share price anchored firmly at N134.70 as at week ended Friday, October 9.
Zenith Bank remains a bedrock asset for income portfolios due to its institutional discipline of consistently paying interim dividends (raising this half-year’s interim to N1.50 from N1.25).
Read also: Zenith Bank’s PBT rises to N637.6bn, pays N1.50 interim dividend
The qualification date for the interim dividend is October 23, while the interim dividend will be paid on October 30. The bank’s stock has hovered around its 52-week high of N136.9 as against a 52-week low of N53.7.
The robust cash return despite muted earnings follows a financial performance that saw the bank’s profit before tax (PBT) tick up by 1.91 percent to N637.603 billion as against N625.629billion in H1’2025. The bank’s gross earnings decreased by 24.64 percent to N1.899trillion from N2.520 trillion in H1’2025.
Related News
Iheanyi Nwachukwu, is a creative content writer with over two decades journalism experience writing on banking, finance, capital markets, and tax. The multiple awards winning journalist is Deputy Editor, BusinessDay. Iheanyi holds BSc Degree in Economics from Imo State University; Master of Science (MSc) Degree in Management from University of Lagos. Iheanyi has attended several work-related trainings including (i) Advanced Writing and Reporting Skills (Pan African University, Lagos); (ii) News Agency Journalism (Indian Institute of Mass Communication {IIMC}, New Delhi, India); and (iii) Capital Markets Development and Regulations (International Law Institute {ILI} of Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA). Other trainings Iheanyi attended include: Economic/Political Risk Analysis (By Thomson Reuters Foundation); International Financial Journalism (IFJ) (By PMA Media Training, UK); Effective Business Writing Skills (By Phillips Consulting); Reporting on Corporate Governance (By International Finance Corporation (IFC) & Thomson Reuters Foundation UK); etc. In addition, he has participated in high-level economy & markets events in Dubai, South Africa, Morocco, and other African countries like Zambia, Ghana and Gambia.
