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Zenith Bank, one of Nigeria’s largest banks, has said its after-tax profit rose by 20 per cent year-on-year to N100.07 billion for the nine-month period ended on September 30, 2016, according to a statement released at the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Monday.

The surge in Zenith Bank’s profit was supported by N31.02 billion in foreign exchange revaluation gains, up 323 per cent from N7.3 billion reported last year. Total comprehensive income – which includes unrealized gains or losses from non-business activities – rose by 93 per cent to N157.76 billion due mainly to foreign currency translation differences of N52.23 billion recorded during the period under review.

Gross earnings rose by 12.9 per cent to N380.35 billion in the first nine months of this year, as interest income rose by 11.3 per cent to N285.67 billion and non-interest income rose by 17.9 per cent to N94.7 billion.

Zenith Bank’s profit and gross earnings exceeded analysts’ expectations of N85.6 billion and N369.5 billion, respectively. “The surge in FX gains obliterated the impact of the 15% decline in Fees and commission following the suspension of Commission on Turnover (COT),” CardinalStone Partners, a Lagos-based investment advisory firm, said in a note to investors.

Total assets rose by 21 per cent to N4.65 trillion from N3.84 trillion due mainly to growth in term loans and on-lending facilities caused by the devaluation of the naira. For the period under review, Zenith Bank said basic earnings per share rose to N3.18 from N2.64.

The bank’s stock closed at N15 per share on the NSE on Monday, up 1.69 per cent from the previous trading day’s close.