Photo caption: Access Holdings logo
Access Holdings Plc has reported a profit after tax of N182.8bn for the first quarter ended 31 March 2025, representing a 14.7 per cent increase compared to N159.3bn recorded in the same period of 2024.
The group’s unaudited consolidated financial statements filed with the Nigerian Exchange recently showed that the improvement was driven by growth in both interest and non-interest income during the review period.
Interest income calculated using the effective interest rate rose by 58.6 per cent to N964.6bn in the first quarter of 2025 from N608.1bn recorded in the corresponding period of 2024. However, interest expense also surged by 71.3 per cent to N760.5bn, from N443.9bn in the previous year.
As a result, net interest income dropped by 20.1 per cent to N220.2bn from N275.7bn, while the net impairment charge on financial assets stood at N21.8bn, marginally lower than N22.8bn in the prior year. Consequently, net interest income after impairment declined to N198.4bn from N252.9bn.
Fee and commission income rose to N174.5bn from N112.4bn, while fee and commission expenses grew to N28.3bn from N25.5bn. This resulted in net fee and commission income of N146.2bn, up from N86.9bn in the corresponding period.
Access Holdings also recorded a fair value and foreign exchange gain of N214.4bn in the first quarter of 2025, an increase from N119.2bn in the previous year, while other operating income dropped to N12.8bn from N23bn.
Personnel expenses climbed to N105.6bn from N79.8bn, while other operating expenses increased to N213.8bn from N176.6bn.
The group’s profit before tax stood at N222.8bn, up from N202.7bn in the first quarter of 2024. After a tax expense of N40bn, the group closed the quarter with a profit of N182.8bn.
Despite the profit growth, Access Holdings reported a total comprehensive loss of N39.6bn in the first quarter of 2025, compared to a gain of N388.3bn in the same period of 2024. The loss was largely due to an unrealised foreign currency translation difference of N142bn and an N84.8bn decline in the fair value of debt financial instruments measured at fair value through other comprehensive income.
Earnings per share for the period rose to 488 kobo, up from 435 kobo in the same period of 2024.
Total assets of the group rose to N39.1tn as at 31 March 2025. Customer deposits stood at N23tn, up from N22.5tn at the end of December 2024, while loans and advances to customers amounted to N11tn.
Total equity attributable to shareholders increased to N3.5tn, while total liabilities stood at N35.4tn.
The PUNCH reported that Access Holdings Plc recorded a profit after tax of N642.2bn for the financial year ended December 31, 2024. This marked a four per cent increase from the N619.3bn reported in 2023.
