Zenith Bank profit before tax edges up 1.2% to ₦928.8bn in nine months

Zenith Bank made a profit before tax of ₦928.8 billion in the nine months to September 2026, up 1.24% from ₦917.4 billion in the same period last year, according to its unaudited financial statements.

The small rise came even though the bank's gross earnings fell 15% to ₦2.87 trillion from ₦3.37 trillion. A sharp fall in the money set aside for bad loans did most of the work: credit impairment charges dropped 70.5% to ₦230.77 billion from ₦782.76 billion.

For ordinary Nigerians, the numbers offer a mixed picture. The bank is lending more — loans and advances rose 24.2% to ₦11.64 trillion — and customer deposits grew 14.5% to ₦27.11 trillion. Total assets climbed to ₦34.39 trillion from ₦31.18 trillion a year earlier.

Where the money went

Net interest income held steady at ₦1.93 trillion. Interest income slipped 4.5% to ₦2.62 trillion, but interest expenses fell faster, down 15.4% to ₦688.73 billion, so the bank kept roughly the same margin.

Fees and commissions did well, rising 26.6% to ₦256.85 billion. Trading was the weak spot: the bank posted a net trading loss of ₦229.19 billion, against a gain of ₦277.65 billion a year earlier — a swing of about ₦506.85 billion.

Running costs also climbed. Operating expenses rose 18.4% to ₦1.02 trillion, pushed by technology costs (₦97.88 billion, up from ₦68.12 billion), fuel and maintenance (₦92 billion, up from ₦65.83 billion) and personnel costs (₦213.15 billion, up 17.1%).

Despite the higher pre-tax profit, profit after tax fell 11.6% to ₦675.83 billion from ₦764.20 billion. The main reason was tax: income tax expense jumped 65.1% to ₦252.97 billion. Earnings per share dropped to ₦16.41 from ₦18.60.

Nigeria weaker, rest of Africa stronger

The Nigerian business remained the biggest earner but slipped, with pre-tax profit of ₦680.54 billion, down from ₦772.87 billion. Operations in the rest of Africa improved to ₦195.36 billion from ₦168.26 billion, while the European business fell to ₦55.53 billion from ₦72.39 billion.

On the Nigerian Exchange, Zenith closed at ₦120.00 per share on Thursday. It started the year at ₦61.80, a gain of 94.2% so far in 2026.

What happens next: The unaudited results will feed into the bank's full-year figures and its dividend decision, which shareholders will watch closely. The trading loss and the bigger tax bill are the two items likely to draw questions at the next earnings call.