Access Holdings’ after-tax profit rose modestly to N642.2 billion for the full year ending December 31, 2024, as banks continue to enjoy bumper profits from Nigeria’s high interest rates.
The group’s after-tax profit marks a 3.69 percent year-on-year growth from the N619.3 billion posted in 2023. Also, the group posted an 18.9 percent year-on-year growth in its pre-tax, which hit N867 billion from N729 billion.
A key component of the banking group’s success was the 55.6 percent growth in its total assets to N41.4 trillion, from N26.6 trillion at the start of the year.
Like its banking contemporaries, Access Holdings’ interest income calculated using the effective interest rate rose to N3.1 trillion from N1.56 trillion. On the flip side, the holding company’s interest expense surged 130.6 percent to N2.21 trillion from N958 billion driven by the high-interest rate environment.
The group also recorded a net interest income of N1.26 trillion, marking an 81.2 percent growth from N695 billion. It also posted N514 billion in fee and commission income in 2024, reflecting an 85 percent growth from the N277 billion reported in 2023.
Access Holdings posted net foreign exchange gains of N288 billion during the full year. In 2023, it recorded a net FX gain of N17.2 billion.
The banking group has seen a substantial increase in its investment securities portfolio, now valued at approximately N11.3 trillion at the end of 2024. This marks a 113.2 percent growth from the N5.34 trillion recorded at the beginning of the year. Most of this growth is linked to a 98.4 percent growth in its treasury bills portfolio which now stands at N3.8 trillion compared to N1.94 trillion.
Read also: Access’s Oxygen X reports N631m profit in first year
Access Holdings reported significant gains in 2024, driven by strong performance across its banking and non-banking subsidiaries, including Access ARM Pensions, Actis Golf, Oxygen X, Hydrogen Payments, and Access Insurance Brokers.
Hydrogen Payments grew its operating profit by 380.7 percent year-on-year to N10 billion from N2.08 billion.
Access Insurance Brokers, still in its first year of operations, posted an operating profit of N1.02 billion and a profit after tax of N747 million.
New entrant, Oxygen X Finance, the group’s digital lending subsidiary, reported N4.05 billion in operating income and a profit after tax of N631 million.
Access Holdings Plc has secured the full regulatory approvals of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of its recently closed Right Issue of 17,772,612,811 Ordinary Shares of 50 Kobo each at N19.75 Kobo per share and has raised the target amount of N351.009 billion.
As of April 15, Access Holdings was trading on the NGX with a share price of N21.4.
Subsidiaries in the UK and across Africa performed particularly well. However, Access Bank Mozambique, Access Bank Kenya, and Access Bank South Africa reported losses last year.
Read also: Access Bank acquires National Bank of Kenya to boost East African footprint
The Group remains committed to expanding its footprint by offering tailored banking solutions in each region, as it recently acquired the National Bank of Kenya Limited from KCB Group PLC to further deepen its East African footprint.
Looking ahead, Access Holdings said it remains focused on enhancing profitability through diversified revenue streams across all markets.
