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Access Bank Plc has delivered second-quarter results that topped analysts’ expectations. On a measure of earnings per share, the Nigerian lender has improved its respective streaks of beating or meeting analysts’ estimates.
For the first six months through June 2017, Access Bank’s net income spiked by 17.30 percent to N39.46 billion from N33.63 billion as at June 2016.
Earnings per share closed at 138k to top analysts’ average estimate of 131k, according to 7 of the 10 analysts surveyed by BusinessDay.
The growth in profit was underpinned by N59.0 billion unrealized net foreign exchange gains. This compares with a deficit figure of N11.15 billion recorded the previous year.
Gross earnings surged by 34.73 percent to N249.95 billion as interest income and non-interest income rose to N161.52 billion and N88.05 billion during the period.
Interest income from investment securities surged by 307.69 percent to N13.25 billion, from N3.25 billion the previous year. This was driven by growth in investment securities and higher yields during the period.
Access Bank has a stable asset quality on the back of proactive risk management practices as its Non-performing Loans (NPLs) of 2.50 percent in the period under review is lower than the 5 percent regulatory threshold.
A robust capital adequacy ratio of 21.60 percent sufficiently positions the Bank to explore growth opportunities.
The new ‘Investors’ and Exporters Window’ introduced by the central bank has been a boon to Access Bank and other lenders as there has been significant improvement in the flow of foreign currency, the scarcity of which had undermined business activities.
The Nigerian Stock Exchange Banking Index has gained 41.52 percent since the start of the year. Access Bank’s shares have gained 74.45 percent since the start of the year, outperforming the NSE ASI Index of 39.65 percent according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Access Bnk’s total loans and advances to customers fell by 3.24 percent to 1.79 trillion as at December 2016 as the bank pursued cautious assets growth amid uncertainties in the macro environment.
The Nigerian lender’s customer deposits base declined by 5.72 percent to N2.12 trillion during the period.
The bank declared an interim dividend of 25k, with a larger dividend expected at the end of the year. It has a dividend yield of 6.50 percent and price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 3.60, based on data gathered from Bloomberg.
Access Bank has total assets of N3.45 trillion in the period under review; shareholders’ fund was N480.48 billion as at the end of the period.
The Nigerian lender has a total of 8 million customers spread across the country and 1064 Automated Teller Machine (ATM) as at June 2017.
Access Bank’s shares gained 3.96 percent on Wednesday to close at N10.24 on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, valuing it at N286.38 billion.
BALA AUGIE
