Access Holdings Profit Rises by 122% to N159bn in Q1
Access Holdings profit after tax rose significantly in the first quarter of 2024, up by about 122% year on year to N159 billion, according to its unaudited financial statement filed on the Nigerian Exchange.
The financial services group financial scorecard showed that Interest Income grew by 142.29% year on year to N608 billion from about N251 billion in the comparable period. The significant jump followed loan repricing after the Central Bank of Nigeria monetary policy tightening saw benchmark interest surged to 24.75% in March.
The group also take advantage of elevated yields on investment. Interest expense also grew strongly reflecting the high interest rate environment, up 179.3% year on year.
In Q1, Access Plc interest expenses surged to N443.880 billion from N158.939 billion in the comparable period. The spike was driven by strong growth in interest expense on deposits from financial institutions and deposits from customers.
Effectively, its net interest income grew by189.4% year on year to N275.719 billion as against N95.277 billion the company posted in the comparable period in 2023.
It was noted that the group’s customer deposits increased by 18.0% in Q1 2024 compared with the December 2023 position, inclusive of the impact of devaluation on foreign currency deposits.
Net Fee and Commission came stronger in Q1-2024, up BY 91.4% Year on year to N86.856 billion from N45.381 billion. This was driven by growth in credit-related fees and, account maintenance charge and handling commission, commission on other financial services and channels and other E-business income.
The bank’s operating expenses surged by 86.5% year on year to reach N279.3billion. This significant uptick in operating expenses was overshadowed by an even greater increase in total operating income, which rose by 101.7% year on year.
Details from the results showed that Amcon charges grew significantly due to an enlarged balance sheet driven partly by the devaluation of the Naira. IT and e-business-related expenses which are likely FX denominated expenses also grew significantly.
Overall, Access Holdings profit before tax climbed by 148.0% year on year to N202.7 billion. In Q1, the financial services group reported significant growth in tax expense, up by more than 337% year on year to N43.4 billion from only N9.9 billion in Q1 2023.