Access Holdings Proposes 45 Kobo Per Share Interim Dividend, H1 PBT Surges By 108%

 Access Holdings Plc, Nigeria’s largest bank by assets, has proposed an interim dividend of 45 kobo per share for its shareholders, following its outstanding financial performance in the first half of 2024.

This announcement comes as the group’s profit before tax (PBT) grew by 108 percent year-on-year, reaching N348.9 billion for the period ending June 30, 2024, up from N167.6 billion in H1 2023.

In a recent notice to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), Access Holdings stated that the interim dividend, subject to appropriate withholding tax, will be paid to shareholders whose names appear on the register by the close of business on Thursday, October 3, 2024. The dividend will be paid electronically on Thursday, October 17, 2024.

Key highlights of the group’s H1 2024 financial results include profit after tax (PAT) at N281.3 billion, a 107.7 percent increase from N135.4 billion in H1 2023, total assets grew by 37 percent to N36.6 trillion, up from N26.7 trillion at the beginning of the year, interest income increased by 116 percent, reaching N1.29 trillion compared to N596 billion in H1 2023, and net interest income up by 129 percent, totalling N513.4 billion from N224.2 billion in H1 2023.

Also, fee and commission income doubled, reaching N251 billion, compared to N125 billion in the previous year.

Access Holdings also reported a total comprehensive income of N646.34 billion, which included an ‘unrealised foreign currency translation difference’ of N412.8 billion. However, the group incurred N419.2 billion in interest expenses on deposits from financial institutions and N411.2 billion in interest expenses on customer deposits.

The group’s foreign subsidiaries performed well overall, with Access Bank UK and Access Bank Ghana contributing pre-tax profits of N111.1 billion and N40 billion, respectively. However, Access Bank South Africa and Kenya posted pre-tax losses of N7.6 billion and N3 billion, respectively.

Access Holdings’ recent ventures in the fintech and pension sectors also showed promising results; hydrogen payment services reported a pre-tax profit of N238 million, up from N161 million in H1 2023. While Access Pension and ARM Pension posted revenues of N7.1 billion and N8 billion, respectively, with both entities recording profits. Access Golf contributed N1.9 billion in revenue.