THE board of directors of Access Holdings has proposed an interim dividend of 45 Kobo per share to his shareholders, even as the Nigeria’s largest bank by total assets, reported a Profit before Tax (PBT) of N348.9 billion for the half-year ending June 30, 2024.
In a notice to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), the financial institution noted that the interim dividend of 45 kobo for every share of 50 kobo is subject to appropriate withholding tax, will be paid to shareholders whose names appear on the register of members as at the close of business come Thursday, October 3, 2024.
It further stated that the dividend would be paid electronically to shareholders on Thursday, October 17, 2024.
Meanwhile, the group in its H1 financial results increases PBT by a 108 percent year-on-year growth from the N167.6 billion posted in H1 2023.
Also, the group posted a 107.7 percent year-on-year growth in its profit after tax, which hit N281.3 billion in H1 2024 from N135.4 billion in H1 2023.
The financial statement revealed that the total assets of the group grew by 37 percent to N36.6 trillion from N26.7 trillion at the start of the year.
Access Holdings posted a 116 percent growth in its interest income. The group posted an interest income of N1.29 trillion during the half-year, contrasting with N596 billion recorded in H1 2023.
The group also recorded a net interest income of N513.4 billion, marking a 129 percent growth from N224.2 billion recorded in H1 2023. It also posted N251 billion in fee and commission income, reflecting a 101 percent growth from the N125 billion fee and commission income posted in H1 2023.
Access Holdings’ second-quarter results reveal year-on-year growth across all major income lines.
Despite reporting a pre-tax profit of N348.9 billion, the corporation also reported a total comprehensive income of N646.34 billion after including an “unrealized foreign currency translation difference” of N412.8 billion.
Access Holdings, however, incurred a whopping N419.2 billion and N411.2 billion in interest expenses on deposits from other financial institutions and customers, respectively.
In terms of fees and commissions, the bank earned a substantial N250.9 billion in the first half of the year. A significant portion of the fees came from credit-related fees (N91.7 billion), e-business income (N73.8 billion), and account maintenance charges and handling commissions (N29.58 billion).
A look at its subsidiaries showed that apart from Access Bank South Africa and Kenya, all other foreign subsidiaries reported pre-tax profits.
Access Bank South Africa and Kenya posted pre-tax losses of N7.6 billion and N3 billion, respectively.
Access Bank UK and Access Bank Ghana were the top performers, contributing N111.1 billion and N40 billion, respectively, in terms of pre-tax profits.
Access Holdings’ new FinTech, Hydrogen Payment Services, reported a pre-tax profit of N238 million from a revenue of N3.1 billion, compared to N161 million at this time last year.
Access Pension, its newly acquired PFA, also reported revenue of N7.1 billion, while ARM Pension, also newly acquired, reported a revenue of N8 billion. Both entities were profitable.
Access Golf, another subsidiary of the holding company, also reported a revenue of N1.9 billion.
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