Access Holdings Plc records earnings surge of 43% to N1.39trn

Access Holdings Plc has announced the release of its audited financial statements for the year ended 31st December 2022, showing a 43 percent surge in gross earnings to N1.39 trillion from N971.89 billion reported in 2021.

The earnings surge was driven by strong growth in interest income as banks harness the dividend of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) tightening policy in recent times which saw interest rate hit 18 percent in March 2023.

However, there was slight drop in pre-tax profit to N167.68 billion as against N176.58 billion posted in 2021 representing a 5 percent dip on the back of decrease in Net foreign exchange gain and other operating income.

According to the bank, the overall Interest Income grew 37% y/y to ₦827billion, driven by a strong loan book growth despite the high inflationary environment.

Net loans & advances to customers grew by 25% across the Banking group, with a deliberate focus on credit disbursement to critical segments and growth sectors of the economy.

“We also saw good growth across the Subsidiaries, in particular the UK (up 36% to N1.1trillion in 2022),” the financial services institution said on Thursday.

Access Holdings Plc ended the year with over 58 million customers across the extensive network of subsidiaries and business verticals.

The company’s asset base grew to ₦15.0 trillion and customer deposits to ₦9.25 trillion, with current account and savings account (CASA) mix up by 5 percent to 63 percent as a result of leveraging innovation, digital technology and financial inclusion to mobilize sustainable low-cost deposits.

In the second half of 2022, Access Holdings Plc completed the divestment from Pensions Custodian business and acquired significant shareholding in First Guarantee Pensions Ltd & Sigma Pensions Ltd to form Access Pensions Ltd.

This combination resulted in the creation of the 4th largest PFA in Nigeria, with Asset under Management of ₦0.9trilion, putting us clearly in the league of strategic players in the Pensions industry.

”Our Payment business went live with the Switching business in Q3 2022, while the other areas of the business will become fully operational from Q2 2023. The overall business outlook for 2023 remains strong as we begin our new 5-year strategic journey which aims to make us one of the top 5 financial services organisation in Africa by 2027,” Access Holdings stated.

The result is coming in the midst of volatile economy characterized by increasing inflation and other economic headwinds

For instance, the headline inflation rate rose to 22.04% in March, a 0.13% increase from the 21.91% rate recorded in February, according to the latest report published by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The state’s statistics agency attributed the jump in prices of food, housing, fuel and gas, among others as the figure shows a consistent increase in inflation rate for the last two years.

As a way of reigning in the inflationary pressure, Central Bank of Nigeria has continued to increase the monetary policy rate, an action that continues to increase lending rates with the attendant reduction in banking Intermediation.

Consequently, Access Holdings’ Other Operating Expenses grew by 46.98% to N341.32 billion from N232.21 billion in 2021.

The Will