Olufemi Adeyemi
This information is derived from the company's half-year audited reports, which have been made available on the NGX website.
When combined with the first-quarter pre-tax profit of N202.7 billion, Access Holdings' total profit for the first half of the year reaches N348.9 billion, a significant increase from the N167.6 billion reported during the same timeframe last year.
The second-quarter results of Access Holdings indicate year-on-year growth across all primary income categories. However, there was a noticeable decline in performance when compared to the preceding quarter.
Key highlights include:
- Interest Income: ₦752.5 billion, an impressive 113% increase.
- Net Interest Income: ₦237.6 billion, reflecting a substantial growth of 84.3%.
- Loan Impairments: ₦99.9 billion, a significant rise of 441.2%.
- Operating Income: ₦585.4 billion, demonstrating a remarkable 132.5% increase.
- Operating Expenses: ₦439.7 billion, indicating a notable 164.7% increase.
- Pre-tax Profits: ₦146.1 billion, achieving a commendable 69.97% growth.
- Loans and Advances: ₦12.2 trillion, representing a substantial 45% increase.
- Total Deposits: ₦27.3 trillion, reflecting a significant 83.1% growth.
- Total Assets: ₦36.5 trillion, demonstrating a remarkable 75.5% increase.
- Net Assets: ₦2.72 trillion, achieving a notable 65.3% growth.
- Dividend: 45 kobo per share.
- EPS (YTD): ₦7.61 per share.
Revenue
In addition to the pre-tax profit of N348.9 billion, the corporation reported a total comprehensive income of N646.34 billion, which includes an “unrealized foreign currency translation difference” amounting to N412.8 billion.
A brief examination of its semi-annual results reveals that the interest income totaled N1.4 trillion, with N691.8 billion derived from loans and advances to customers. Additionally, N86.6 billion was generated from loans to other banks, while the remainder was sourced from investment securities. Access Holdings faced significant interest expenses amounting to N419.2 billion for deposits from other financial institutions and N411.2 billion for customer deposits.
Regarding fees and commissions, the bank reported earnings of N250.9 billion in the first half of the year, with notable contributions from credit-related fees (N91.7 billion), e-business income (N73.8 billion), and account maintenance and handling commissions (N29.58 billion). Furthermore, it incurred N37 billion in expenses associated with its e-banking services.
The bank experienced a significant increase in personnel expenses, which rose dramatically from N65.1 billion to N158.8 billion, marking a 143.9% increase.
An analysis indicates that this may be attributed to heightened hiring and promotions, as the staff count grew from 7,567 to 8,009. Additionally, the number of employees earning N14.9 million and above surged from 1,193 to 1,782 within a six-month period. The managerial staff also saw an increase, climbing from 621 to 968.
Other notable contributors to the bank's costs include IT and e-business expenditures, which soared by 265% to N111.2 billion. The AMCON surcharge also escalated to N111.2 billion, up from N68.8 billion the previous year. Furthermore, travel expenses more than doubled, increasing from N10.7 billion to N24.5 billion. Overall, operating expenses surged by 128% to N512 billion, primarily driven by IT and e-business costs as well as AMCON surcharges.
In terms of subsidiary performance, all foreign subsidiaries, except for Access Bank South Africa and Kenya, reported pre-tax profits. Access Bank South Africa and Kenya recorded pre-tax losses of N7.6 billion and N3 billion, respectively.
Access Bank UK and Access Bank Ghana emerged as the leading contributors, generating pre-tax profits of N111.1 billion and N40 billion, respectively. Access Holdings’ new FinTech venture, Hydrogen Payment Services, reported a pre-tax profit of N238 million from revenues of N3.1 billion, compared to N161 million during the same period last year.
Access Pension, a recently acquired PFA, reported revenues of N7.1 billion, while ARM Pension, also newly acquired, generated revenues of N8 billion, both showing profitability. Additionally, Access Golf, another subsidiary, reported revenues of N1.9 billion.