Zenith International Bank Plc on Wednesday reported a profit after tax of N150.72 billion for nine months ended Sept. 30, 2019.

The profit represented a growth of five per cent when compared to N144.18 billion achieved in the corresponding period of 2018.

The bank in the unaudited result released by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) said that profit before tax stood at N176.18 billion against N167.31 billion in the comparative period of 2018.

Also, the lender increased its gross earnings for the period by 3.52 per cent to N491.3 billion against N474.6 billion in nine months of 2018.

The group recorded a significant growth in non-interest income, expanding by 22 per cent to N156.8 billion from N128.7 billion in corresponding period of 2018.

The bank said that its cost optimisation strategies and aggressive retail banking drive were yielding the desired effects as cost-to-income ratio declined from 51.2 per cent in third quarter 2018 to 50.1 per cent in Q3 2019.

Similarly, Earnings Per Share (EPS) rose by five per cent to N4.80 during the period under review from N4.58 in Q3 2018.

“Our robust risk management framework has ensured that non-performing loans (NPL) ratio declined from 4.98 per cent in December 2018 to 4.95 per cent in the current period.

“Our commitment to maintaining a shock-proof balance sheet remains with liquidity and capital adequacy ratios at 63.8 per cent and 23.8 per cent respectively, both above regulatory thresholds.

“In this final quarter of the year, we will sustain our competitiveness and share of market in the corporate segment and build upon our digital foundations to reinforce our retail banking initiatives,” the bank said.